I will stay standing on my feet I will take whatever I please I will not take Exit 167 Due to all of the bad memories Swallow your anger, spit out your wine Just know nobody else is doing fine You've got your split-lipped Houston smile and the future's bright Let the broken strings unwind I'm silver and sulfur when they combine You can't complain about your old home changing when you're the one who left it So just hold your breath this time You've lost your ability to whine It's what you needed all this time Start getting mad about the right things, give yourself a break You'll be just fine So let the hammer fire away No silver bullets, no saving face So look up, count back from a hundred And take it like a levy taking on a hurricane I've got paper cups, so let's pour the wine If we're all breathing, we're doing fine All jacks, no aces, a familiar song, And the future's bright.

These black band t shirts just don't work like they used to Faded anachronisms, distant planets in the past It's finally getting colder here two whole months into winter Remnant tinsel lines the streets, wondering how long it'll last I rode the bus loop twice around, couldn't think of anything better Thought about how everything is made a little better with a dog I kind of wish I was someone else, like a photographer or painter Cold coffee in my cold hands, I roll out into the fog I guess I'll call someone and tell them I need a ride back to my house So they know that I'm not dying I just needed to get out I can't really remember how I got back home And the buzz that stows away on my F# keeps ringing out There's a box up on the table filled with digital reminders I'll get to them in the morning, because it's winter now

I was a boat by the lake Stationed and silent and lost You were just running away And needed a lift across You put all your things in a bag And hopped across the water with me I took you to where the train tracks And the edge of the water meet Then I was a plane in the sky Searching for some place to land And you were a frightened soldier Waiting with the gun in your hands And suddenly I lose control Crash position won't save a thing I try not to hurt anyone But I can't steer and I can't see

There are many days I've quelled disaster jumping from my throat In the hopes that I would never dash my hopes And I could safely stay right where I am With no real place to go I see finally You slid your hand across my back again Like the bow across the strings of a violin It shook my surface, choking on the dust But I'm worn too thin I remember now A story from so many years ago King David crying on the floor alone, "God please don't take my son from my arms. He is my home." At my old high school We found a hiding space between the walls You could only find your way there if you crawled And we stashed full of photographs and lights And then we left it all Well I think I got it now There really is no way to win this bet If you keep the books closed sitting on your chest Well I think I'm not afraid to be alone But I ain't been there yet.

We sat on the front porch and talk about which of our friends were going to hell We've always heard it said the kingdom of Heaven's like a pearl inside a shell Then the glowing ring would crawl, and I cannot recall what happened next, what that became I forgot my grief, and I forgot my friends just the same Well I'd bottle up forgiveness if I could. I would give it out for free So I think I'll give mine all away. Just take it and stay the hell away from me I gave you what you want so every single one of you are now free from me So run along, no nothing's wrong, I swear that I'm eleated and This joy is not a choice I'll fight you on that fact to the end of my voice Swim away from me. Give me to the sea Don't you trust a man who's forgotten his grief I laid on my back at 3AM on some walkway overpass No I couldn't sleep in my own bed, I was scared that I'd fall asleep too fast So many brand new prefixes, I guess I just need sleepless, artificial despondency So I made it up as I went along, no I don't feel a thing but this false joy It's not a choice I'll fight you on that fact to the end of my voice Swim away from me. Give me to the sea. Don't you trust a man who's forgotten his grief. Because that man's me. Oh what have I become? I'll fight you all to hell where this head of mine comes from. No I am not your friend, though I have tried to be. I am just the man who's forgotten his grief I forgot my grief Some false joy, I made my choice You will account for every song that's sung with your voice Swim away from me. Give me to the sea When my sins find me out, where the hell will I be?