Post Mortem

The darkness of night slowly creeps in
Light flickers, then fades into a blackened sky
The minds eye plays tricks with everything you see
Imagination triggers thoughts of the fears within

Try to relax, be your best self
But all you do is worry; the gun’s in the drawer
Each person you see reminds you again
You’ve got to be certain, one hundred percent certain
You were beaten and robbed, left for dead
No one was there; you were by yourself
Critically wounded; clawing to get help
Echoes of voices, then sirens and nothing

The gavel gives justice like a loaded gun to your head,
The accused goes free; his case was self-defense
Victims are all guilty by their own choice the argument
Scenes of that night, you never forget but relive every day

A promise, a threat, uttered through a chuckle
You must take this seriously; you must take arms
If ever again, then never again, this will come to end
As you wait, time passes slowly living in fear,

Until the day you are certain, one hundred percent certain!

Cleanse

As many as I can man
As many as I can
I told the drunk
I bumped into
At the local bar
Where you from he asked
After what I'd just told him
I simply told him
I come from afar
Well all I can tell you
is this he said
We don't do that sort of thing
round here
I started to smile and said
Well I've only just arrived
give a guy a break I laughed
As a nervous tremor
ever so slight crossed his lips
He reached into his jacket
for what I thought was a gun
I drew first and shot faster
and now the stranger
lay dead in the alley
The stranger lay dead on the ground
another stranger lay dead on the ground
Don't try to understand me
or the reason why
So many have tried
So many have died
The story I tell them
I warn them about
I tell them
I will share the story
And what it's about
But if they want to hear it
They're in it
And there's no way out
The smart ones think they're smart
and ask me what it's all about
I don't gives clues, hints or such
You're either in or out
The self proclaimed smartest ones of all
They ask me nothing, they know it all
But their ignorance
makes them the easiest target of all
And at the end of every story
when I'm just about done
They ask me my intentions
And what it is that brought me here
Why have I come
I'd love to tell you I say
with a great big smile
but that would spoil all the fun
In natural progression
They ask if what I say is true
and if I have done this before
Do I plan to do it again
I reply
As many as I can man
As many as I can
I told the man I met at the corner store
That's messed up he told me
and by the sounds of it so are you
I told him a few things I'd done
to his mother
So he'd co-operate
By the time his first punch landed
for him it was too late
I grabbed his other arm
spin him around into a head lock
My blade met both his ears and now
grinning a bloody grin
the stranger lay dead in aisle six
The stranger lay dead on the floor
Cleanup in aisle six
another stranger lay dead on the floor
There's not much to me
or to understand
I don't give or ask the time
or for directions
pay close attention to your reflection
Don't but into line
Respect other peoples space
Avoid confrontation
Don't look me in the face
Never make eye contact
Always know your place
Never stand too close to the edge
Don't give reason
Don't give rhyme
Don't get caught
Or you too
will run out of time.

Play

If I had a gun
I’d throw it away
I’d pick up my guitar instead
And play
I’d play for peace
I’d play for fun
I’d play my guitar
But not a gun
Noise, noise, noise
I hear
I hear noise everywhere
And in both ears
The noise of cars driving by
Of planes soaring way up high
The sounds of kids playing in the park
The sound of a gun
A shot in the dark
Kids should be kids
And kids should have fun
Boys chasing girls
On the run
Kids need to learn to respect
One another
Not how to clean, load
Or shoot a gun
In the yard it stood
Where they used to play
I tore it down
Just the other day
It was a fort
A clubhouse
And so much more
Two windows
And our old screen door
The games they played were all in fun
But in today’s games the fun is done
The game’s called war
Take all their guns away
Lead by example
Show them what other things
They can play
Take all their guns
And throw them away
Pick up a guitar and play
Play for peace
Play for fun
Play for any reason
And with anyone
Just don’t play war
Or play with a gun