The Chair

There was a day when I just couldn’t go in so
I sat in a chair and I stared out a window
A squirrel in the grass and a bird in a tree
Had no idea what was happening with me

Hours crept past but I just couldn’t rise
My mind locked me in as the sun crossed the sky 
The root of my sadness, it all seemed so clear
I could feel my heart beat, I could not leave this chair

I thought of my job and I thought of my home
My life filling out like a garden I’d grown
But where love should be I had only a hole
It all seemed so wrong as I sat there alone

Rise and be free

‘Course you’ll die, that’s not news
You got stuck, man that’s on you
Locked yourself inside your head but
Monkey moves or monkey’s dead
The chair is nice but let it go 
Rise

I needed a change and I needed a plan
Held hostage at home and no one to ransom
Alone in the chair and my own family
Had no idea what was happening with me

Why can’t I stand and I only can think
Like watching myself in a dark boring film 
The dog was just staring then fell back to sleep
A brain like a jail I review my own plea

My body was trapped but my mind was so clear
I saw myself sitting so calm so severe
It should be so easy to make the first move
But my legs won’t respond so I sit and I stew

Rise and be free

‘Course you’ll die, that’s not news
Quit self-paralyzing dude
All this existential dread but
Monkey moves or monkey’s dead
The chair is nice but let it go 
Rise 

Then I got up, when the time came to stand
Free of the weight of a middle aged man
My sentence was served and decisions were made
Time for some nagging old debts to be paid

A squirrel in the grass and a bird in a tree
Never would guess at the future I’d seen
My life was blown open, love was my plea
I rise from this chair I was finally free  rise!


THE CHAIR

The Mall

In our closed down malls there are squatters in the spaces 
Where there used to be stores before they were replaced
Now the drones fly by bringing blue jeans and cosmetics
We got websites and deliveries, and driverless cars

You see Rory and he’s living in what used to be Victoria’s
A secret in a corner of 8,000 square feet
Where the camera can’t see and the guard name Keith don’t care
Just gotta get the timing - he’ll never know you’re there

Twice a day Kieth walks by and he glances into corners
It’s his job to keep the mall free of animals and squatters
But he doesn’t really care if some happy humans shelter
He makes minimum plus bennies and it’s quiet by himself

It’s quiet Kieth craves and he circles through the food court
Now it’s not exactly dirty but it’s not exactly clean
He thinks about they days of yelling teens and crying children 
They were not exactly dirty, they were not exactly clean

There are people in the mall they are very of hard to see
They’re not homeless - just their housing is illegal and it’s free
There is power and there’s water and there’s lots and lots of space
Some folks just aren’t running in the same human race

In Rory’s little corner is a fairly comfy sofa
And a mattress and a bookcase and a table and a chair
All tucked behind a fixture that was once displaying bras
And the fixture hides his home from Keith and from Roz

Roz is kind of crazy but she’s way past  the food court
In a nameless little storefront over by the H&M
She is always riding buses she is always stealing blankets
She plays checkers in the floor tiles with imaginary friends

There are voices in her head she prefers them to her parents
She prefers them to her husband she prefers them to her kids
There are lots of ways of living and we all make little choices
Roz prefers abandoned malls and checkers she can win

When the mall was shut for good the teenagers didn’t notice
They had cell phones they had socials so they didn’t need a mall
Guess the old folks in their tracksuits they found somewhere else to walk
Now it’s empty and its dirty but there’s lots of space to park

In the empty art supply store tucked behind a big white counter
Are a couple bags of clothing and a few abandoned pens
There’s a couple small notebooks neatly filling up with poems
It’s where Franny spends her evenings after Keith’s shift ends

Franny’s got a job and she’s got a little honda
And she’s got a little office and she’s got a little fridge
There’s money in her pocket when it hasn’t all been spent
Really she’s got plenty cause he isn’t paying rent

The christians from the college twice a week deliver groceries
And anonymously leave them on the loading docks pre-dawn
Roz thinks it’s a miracle and thanks her god for loving her
And everyone is happy ‘cept for Keith who doesn’t care

At the other end from Rory is Omar’s  little family
They are happy cause they no longer are living in a van
They’ve got a little set-up where the kids can do their homework
They are very very quiet when the mall cop Keith is near

He’s a walker with a paycheck and the king of this domain
An abandoned mall ain’t spooky hell to him it’s sorta tame
Nothing really scary can be lurking in these corners
And the squatters don’t know that he knows that they’re all there

Kieth has a job and he’s got a little honda
And he’s got a little laptop and he’s got an old fridge
There’s money in his pocket when it hasn’t all been spent
Really he’d have plenty if he wasn’t paying rent

Now Omar’s doing yoga and his kids are writing poems
Roz is playing checkers while Rory’s reading news
It’s a post-modern utopia for quiet happy squatters 
We have vacancies aplenty we’ve got space for you

You don’t have to have a job nor even a little honda
Come build a little office and bring in your own fridge
There’ll be money in your pocket when isn’t all spent
You’ll love it in our mall and you won’t be paying rent




The Mall

The Ultraman Pop Song

Verse 1:
 What I’m about to tell you
Cannot leave this room
I’ve got a secret
The mirror knows it too

Got you thinking
How you’re gonna pay
Got you thinking
Living for today

Pre-Chorus:
My world’s a fire
Ain’t nobody knows
Ain’t no sirens coming
Ain’t no water hose
Ain’t no time to find
Meaning in your life
Get up here and run with me

Chorus:
I’m your superhero
I’m your ultra-man
I’m the waking dreamer
You’re my biggest fan

Verse 2:
What you’re about to show me
I will not believe
No way to unsee it
Hide the trick back up your sleeve

Got me thinking
We all gotta love
Got me listening
For thunder from above

I saw you crying
Saw a torn up rose
I saw your dancing shoes
Couldn’t hold the pose

Pre-Chorus:
Inside’s a fire
Everybody choose
Ain’t no party bumping
Ain’t no dance floor moves
Ain’t no time to find
 Meaning in your life
Get up here and fly with me

Chorus:
I’m your superhero
I’m your ultra-man
I’m the waking dreamer
You’re my biggest fan

Verse 3:
Tonight we are courageous
Tonight we run away
No way to avoid it
Nothing left to pay

Time for choices
Will you take that call
Or put your phone down
And get up off the wall

I got you covered
Any way you please
We’ll never talk about
The night we stole the keys

Pre-Chorus:
My love’s a fire
Everybody burns
Time for choosing
Ain’t no time to learn
Ain’t no time to find
Meaning in your life
Get up here and dance with me

Chorus:
I’m your superhero
I’m your ultra-man
I’m the waking dreamer
You’re my biggest fan

Adam Bauchner

Popular tracks