More Less

I need to write more poems again.
I miss the way my brain worked then.
I also need to play more songs,
design more websites, right more wrongs,
find more clients, make more cash,
do more with my craft-stuff stash,
speak more Spanish, read more books,
spend time proving I can cook,
make more friends, call friends more,
do more with my Etsy store,
give my toddler more of me,
be the best that I can be,
yes, the very, very best–
okay, so what should I do less?

Fragile

You had fallen down the stairs before,
my rough and tumble child.
And you got up to play some more.
You only had a little while.
I have brushed tears off your cheeks
and gravel from your knees.
But all our strength is still too weak
for this day's injury.

Aren't we all so fragile?
How fast we fall,
how carefully we must be handled.
How much we can take,
how suddenly we break…
Oh, how it aches to be this fragile.

You had fallen out of bounds before
with your rough and tumble heart.
But it wouldn't happen again, you swore.
When you felt that burning spark,
you brushed it off as quick as tears
so that you would be fine.
But all our strength is still too weak
to keep our strength in line.

Aren't we all so fragile?
How fast we fall,
how carefully we must be handled.
How much we can take,
how suddenly we break…
Oh, how it aches to be this fragile.

Oh God, take the pressure inside.
I am made of glass. I have no place to hide.
Can I ask, why did you make me so fragile?
Is that something you can handle?

Aren't we all so fragile?
How fast we fall,
how carefully we must be handled.
How much we can take,
how suddenly we break…
Oh, how it aches to be this fragile.

Under Pressure

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Plan out what you would say if you only had the chance,
then waste your only chance.
And tell your self that no one ever listens,
no one ever listens to your silent rants.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Make a list and check it zero times
until the day that everything is due.
And stay busy enough all that time before
to convince yourself that they did this to you.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Scatter all your clothes across the floor
and stack all of your dishes in the sink
and christen it a cosmic cleaning party
when you finally clean it up so you can think.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Find thirty books that you would like to read
and check them out yourself all at one time
and read them while you listen to an audiobook
like it's a race to fill up your whole mind.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

And someday take a break and just sit down

and think about how life has been so crazy.

And realize this has only been a warm-up

and now it's time to really be amazing.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

But That's Not What I Said

Why are you getting all defensive

You think that I'm on the offensive.

But that's not what I said.

You think that I am blaming you

that all our weekend plans fell through.

But that's not what I said.

You think that I don't like to wait

and that I think you're kinda late.

But that's not what I said.

You 'pologize for what you wear,

assume that I don't like your hair,

but that's not what I said.

There you go, do it by yourself,

you think that I don't want to help.

But that's not what I said.

And when I turn and walk away

you think I'm having a bad day.

But that's not what I said.

You think it's not my favorite date

when I don't touch what's on my plate.

But that's not what I said.

You say "Well here is the receipt,"

as if the gift is not that neat.

But that's not what I said.

It seems like you're always assuming.

You act like some big news is looming.

But that's not what I said.

Sometimes you look and sigh at me

like I won't ever let you be.

But that's not what I said.

You know that's not what I said,

and if my mind could be read,

oh you'd know, you know.

But that's not what I said.

My Sign

Hung on my neck, like a noose but loose,

is a sign that reads "I have no excuse.

Yet my life is still messy and my brain feels like toast. 

It's my own imperfection that drags me down most."

(In response to this great article.)

If I Were You

"If I were you, life would be always be easy,"
says the back of our minds to the girl in the shot.
And then we go back to living our own lives,
surprised and confused on the days that it's not.

If a Few More People Volunteered

There are so many people in this world,
and so many choosing to have hope
that if we got ourselves into this mess
then we can get ourselves out of it.
And they want to believe that
there are plenty of ways out of it.
To each his or her own.
All roads lead home.
And I'd be willing to believe that, too,
if a few more people volunteered
to live a spotless life
and then to die to give it away.

Enough Is Enough

We spend so much time working
to pay for things to take up the time we are not working.
In the free time we buy, we shop, we sort, we fix, we clean,
we use, we move, we dispose of, and finally we scream,
"Enough is enough!
Let's stop with the stuff!
Let's work for what's needed
and live just to love!"

Quite Quietly

If you don't have something nice to say,
don't say anything at all,
so we must live quite quietly
on earth after the fall.

By Your Toil

Beans in the fields,
weeds in the beans.
God said, "by your toil"
and we feel what it means.
That nothing is perfect.
There's no magic fairy dust
or magic fairy spray
and so toil we must.
Some toil on foot,
pulling weeds with their hands.
Some toil their minds
to find a balm for this land.

It's There

If this is the lowest price,
then, by golly, we must pay it.
Just like every thought I think–
it's there and so I say it.

Picking Up My Own Slack

Picking up my own slack
is worse than that of someone else.
There's no superior feeling.
There's no pride if I were to tell
"Yeah, I didn't do it then,
so today I did it double."
No, there's just a nagging feeling
like I've gotten into trouble.

Sliding Puzzle

Life is like a sliding puzzle,

the kind with nine or sixteen squares

that only work when there's a space,

so if your life seems full, beware.

Mail

The mailwoman comes just once a day,
so I just check the mailbox once.
I know that all the junk will come,
just once a day, about at lunch.
My email comes in when it pleases,
and so I could check it constantly
just to find, like the paper mail,
there's rarely anything for me.

Plank

There's a plank in my eye,
and it hurts a lot,
but I think someone else
put this plank in this spot!

Boundaries

"A love that knows no boundaries."
It sounds so good in theory.
But I've read a woman's tears,
and so I'm skeptical. I'm leery.
I see no one can love another
without loving his own self.
It's just that, lacking boundaries,
love's selfishness excels
and overcomes intentions
and turns itself to lust.
So until love's perfected,
boundaries are a must.

Needy

Why you gotta be so needy?
Promise me you don't be greedy
and pass your boredom off as thirst
or little bumps as hurts far worse.
Cry to me and I'll believe you,
change your diaper, hold and feed you,
aware my "need" to be your hero
could feed greed, and that's my fear. Oh,
why this be so complicated?
And when will you be satiated?
You know, I can be selfish too,
and I have things I need to do
when this apparent growth spurt's through.

Album-Titled Self

Oh, oh, my album-titled self.
I changed my name to get my product on the shelf.
Now I'm waiting, waiting to see if it sells.
Waiting all by my album-titled self.

Paint on the tape on the video.
There wasn't much that he wouldn't show.
And she was the voice that people would know.
At least he thought so.

In green paint now, because that's the best.
It'll all turn green until there's nothing left
but a green smoke stack and we all are deaf
from the people shouting yes.

And then we'll give up on our budget cuts
the minute we feel they've stuck us in a rut.
And we'll rush out and buy a new truck
just to handle a buck.

I usually write to make more sense.
That's not in right now, in my defense.
There's a cost to keeping up with the trends.
It's a business expense.
Life's a business expense.
I can write myself off as a business expense.

Oh, oh, my album-titled self.
I changed my name to get my product on the shelf.
Now I'm waiting, waiting to see if it sells.
Waiting all by my album-titled self.

Seam Ripper

There she goes again,

ripping out the seams.

Doesn't she know

it will leave holes?

I wish I could hold it all 

together for her.

She thinks she might be

better off alone.

Bits of thread

lie scattered on the ground

while the bobbin spins

around, around.

And there she goes again,

ripping out the seams.

Sitting

If you're a Martha, not a Mary,
think twice before you have a baby
and plan on spending lots of time
just sitting at His feet.
Make all your many preparations
but don't forget about the patience
because, above all else
that's the thing you're going to need.
And they will ask, "What do you do?"
And you will ask yourself that, too.
And you must find your answer
while sitting at His feet.