Sixty Six

It’s '66 and I haven’t been born
Smash the state eat the rich
And do it now while the clock and the phone
Know nothing about you

You’re waking all naked by the body that made me
News of a lottery to send you to war
The neighbour said hey
Use my car while I’m gone

You break into crying every other morning
We’ll have a name for that some day
You'll just call it woke
You got the new Revolver ringing out in the shed
But the Rubber Soul was better

You're waking all naked by the body that made me
Fuzzy from the row on whether Ryan should hang
The neighbour calls reverse
And says hey can you send me some money

It's '66 and I haven’t been born
Smash the state, stop the war
And do it now while the car
In the drive isn't spying on you

You're waking all naked by the body that made me
If you could only marry, she could go on the pill
The neighbour said if they come knocking,
Tell em that you never knew me

It's 66 and I haven’t been born
Lose your job, save our sons
A telephone is ringing
And ringing out in the hall

~ Brendan Bonsack

Bubble Gum

I met a woman who told me how
She once had these two minstrel men
It wasn't that good on either occasion
She'd tried to forget them till when

They came on the radio
Ballads like gum
In the dirts of your shoes
She was all flight in one
All fight in the second
But in both just wrung out
Like a jangly possession

She remembers a falling and hitting her head
While he went off and ransacked her room
She had work in the morning, well she had to make rent
He had nothing better to do

Than to come on the radio
With ballads like a wine stain in the rug
She was all flight in one
All fight in the second
But in both just wrung out
Like a jangly possession

I met a woman who told me how
She once had these two minstrel men
One came in on crutches, one came in with matches
A fine burn was each their intent

Then to come on the radio
With bubblegum ballads that just sit anywhere
Chew you and spit you and
Stick to your chair
She was all flight in one
All fight in the second
But in both just wrung out
Like a jangly possession

She said, I'd tell you the real story
But you'd probably just wreck it

~ Brendan Bonsack

Holler and Wave

I wanna put my arms around you
And find the words to burst
The malaise that pursued you
And got to you the first

Remember we were fishing
That shiny spinning lure?
That's what words are like
I caught nothing and no more

They say we burn bridges
But what of that phrase?
Bridges were something
Back in the day
Sever the bindings
And then walk away
Now we stand on the banks
And still holler and wave

The booze is there to greet you
By the breakfast table spoon
The feed beneath your fingers
Off-hand baiting and abuse

I wanna put my arms around you
Trade a sorry for your gun
That's what words are like
We always want the final one

They say we burn bridges
But what of that phrase?
Bridges were something
Back in the day
Sever the bindings
And then walk away
Now we stand on the banks
And still holler and wave

~ Brendan Bonsack

Brain Scan

I nibble your sandwich
return it to the tray
try the jelly
the ward clatters
your skin has a little
more colour today
your hands in a nurse’s
I tie you behind
a supple grey bow
you insist on walking
the corridors draw
the pulse of our memories
we are slow we are slow we are slow
we reach the place
I cannot go and we
moth upon a mirror kiss
I wait with the chairs
lions in my belly
and cold sun in my chest
I dream we are enmeshed
creatures of light
danced in your head
the white coats
search for black holes, but
find our love instead
our tremor reaches
all the way out, and
down to the very last bed

~ Brendan Bonsack

Shooting Hoops

The kid next door is shooting hoops
A rubber ball rising
Above the fence line and falling
Fail, fail, fail, succeed
The backboard rocks
Like an old man trying to remember something

My toast grows cold from watching
I imagine that if I had super powers
I could will the ball to net at every try
Just for the squeals of elation
The dog running round and round and round
In circles and barking

They took the father again last night
The kitchen window is hushed in conversation
Word, word, silence and a word
Hard cement and rubber ball bouncing
Has such a distinctive sound
Clenched air pushing
Shooting for cracks in the sphere

Sound is just the air inside us
Trying to make sense
Or so I hear

~ Brendan Bonsack

Down to the Buttons

Saying have a great day
With a smile, as they trained
Will that be all today
Could we try that again
Your card was declined
It's fine, that's fine
It happens all the time
Thanks for waiting

Didn't sleep much last night
There was a fight at the bus stop
A crashing of glass
And blunt hammer voices
Setting off dogs and
The room filled with blue light
Smell of blood on the pillow
So strange how memory
Can do that

Gotta be on time
Gotta make things right
Get the 505 at 6:09
Gotta make routines
Gotta keep it clean
Gotta wear the
Hat and the sleeves
Down to the buttons

Retirees who never say please
Doubled-parked, talking cricket
Buying lottery tickets
Golden chains and complaining
‘bout capital gains
On this sunny afternoon
And kids these days
Are too lazy – back in THEIR day…

Didn't check if the oven was off
No, it was, that was checked
But was the door locked?
No, can't leave the shift
Just let the feeling sit
In the neck and the arms
And smile at all times

Gotta make things right
Gotta not lose sight
Get the 505 at 6:09
Gotta make routines
Gotta keep it clean
Gotta wear the
Hat and the sleeves
Down to the buttons

Real estate guys
In their match suit and ties
Want their orders just so
Laughing about the
Squats they've evicted
Sharing links and videos
It's Location, Location
L’ L’ L’ Location
Bomb a whole generation
For the beachfront portfolio

Here's the neighbor
With the baby up all night look
A tattoo removed
And bag full of unfinished books
What do you think about
Nuclear power, you know
You've gotta have views
About it
But that's not in the training
Scan the item
Push the buttons
Say have a great day
And smile; that's the order

Gotta make things right
Gotta not lose sight
Get the 505 at 6:09
Gotta keep routines
Gotta make it clean
Gotta surface gleam
and panic free
Gotta keep it light
Don't let it bite
The 505 stops at 9:00
Gotta keep an eye
Out for the signs
Gotta wear the
Hat and the sleeves
Down to the buttons

~ Brendan Bonsack

Honeymaker's Waltz

Just to hear your voice again
You'd place the nearest star
Beneath my tongue
I know this hum
The warm spread
Of a honeymaker's touch
Tiptoed from my neck

All along my watch hand
It's weeks into years
Years into lives
This breath I've been holding
Don't feel like it's mine

Just to hear your voice again
They say, once in
To never pull out the barb
But I know this rush
The warm flood
The stuff of wildflowers
Sends them reaching for its only sun

All along my watch hand
It's weeks into years
Years into lives
This breath I've been holding
Don't feel like it's mine

Just to hear your voice again
You'd place the nearest star
Beneath my tongue
I know this dance
All down my arm
The honeymaker's waltz
Before you've even uttered a sound

All along my watch hand
It's weeks into years
Years into lives
This breath I've been holding
Don't feel like it's mine

~ Brendan Bonsack

After Diane

They stare down
The barrel of your loneliness
The shutter takes their spirit, yes,
But they still walk free with it

Every one of them is you,
Your light burst from a dark room
The moment in motion feels
Like a belly full of vipers

Sleeping on empty
For you know
They are hungry
People keep asking after you
But you can’t photograph speech
People keep reaching out for you
But we've only one heart each

Kill a panic with the open and shut
The second split between a love me or not
Your machine will deceive you
Or make you believe there's
A magic in any of us

Someone turned the sand to glass
You bend the world enough to pass
For something much kinder
No shame in a life
We're all gonna die in the last

Sleeping on empty
For you know
They are hungry
People keep asking after you
But you can’t photograph speech
People keep reaching out for you
But we've only one heart each

~ Brendan Bonsack