Awaken, oh awaken, let not the time pass in vain 
Illusion burns into illumination & breaks the unbreakable chain 
The rain it raineth everyday, logic & sermons never convince 
To make a brother of the stranger, so I say draw nigh & commence 
Where the mind is without fear & the head is held high 
Where knowledge is free to all who’d seek
Into that heaven of freedom let my country awake 

Awaken, oh awaken, remove your haggard disguise 
Come out of your meditation, don’t be led to believe a lie 
Sweep with the true gravitation the dust that deludes the mind 
Don’t walk pleasantly to annihilation or bow to insolent might 
Where the world hasn’t been split apart by walls 
Where words ring out from the depth of truth 
Into that heaven of freedom let my country awake 

Awaken, oh awaken, & rise with resistless will 
From the bottom of the barrel to the top of the capitol hill 
Oh despairer, you shall not go down, hang your whole weight on me 
My ears have heard your cries & your tears my eyes have seen 
Where the stream of reason doesn’t die in the dry dessert sand 
Where arms lend out helping hands 
Into that heaven of freedom let my country awake

All Rights Reserved.
Isaac Rowlingson/Kiodea.

Awaken, Oh Awaken (Let My Country Awake)

Vague as the night 
& form in Scarlet folds
Under the paling stars 
Under your boot soles 
Far beyond the difference 
Between what's ahead & behind 
Where there is no distance 
O, to think of time 

I rode the lonesome prairie 
& whirled in the hot air of noon 
I crossed the ceaseless ferry 
Under the full-moon tinged with blue 

To think of time, 
In the twilight of gleams & glimpses 
To think of time,
Decked with the robes of princes 
To think of time, 
Thou hast made me endless 
To think of time…

The farthest course comes nearest towards 
This world’s great festival 
So I strum the chords that please the lord 
With whom I loaf & lull
& ply my minstrelsy 
Within this court of thine 
Where I’ll always have a corner seat 
O, to think of time 

Rapid the trot to the cemetery 
The earth is quickly shoveled in 
What was expected of Heaven, or feared of Hell?
What becomes of now & then?

To think of time, 
We’ll never lie by again 
To think of time, 
We gather pebbles & scatter them
To think of time, 
Passed on the preludes within 
To think of time…

People come with their codes & laws 
In hopes to bind me fast 
But ever I evade them all
With the shadows that I cast 
The casket is latched, the gate is passed, 
& another eye turns blind 
I’d give myself up to love at last 
O, to think of time

So if you've come looking for answers 
For the questions that you’ve dreamed
I am no necromancer 
& I have no exquisite scheme

To think of time, 
You & your soul enclose all things 
To think of time, 
All truths wait in all things 
To think of time, 
Stars stay aside in their own rings 
To think of time…

All Rights Reserved. 
Isaac Rowlingson/Kiodea.

To Think of Time (After Walt Whitman)

Stolen moments, stolen hours, 
Stolen kisses, stolen flowers, 
Stolen days, stolen years, 
Stolen laughter, stolen tears,
Stolen seasons, stolen time, 
Stolen reasons, stolen rhyme, 
Don’t you bring me no stolen things 
That always disappear

Stolen sun, stolen moon, 
Stolen words, stolen tune, 
Stolen rays, stolen beams, 
Stolen secrets, stolen dreams, 
Stolen heart, stolen mind, 
Stolen things I cannot find 
Don’t you bring me no stolen things 
That are never what they seem

All Rights Reserved. 
Isaac Rowlingson/Kiodea.

Stolen Things

We’re vaping, we’re vaping, 
Somethings in the air 
& noone seems to care 
We’re vaping, we’re vaping, 
Everywhere you go 
They’ve blown another O 
We’re vaping, we’re vaping, 
Man, I think we’re vaping away

We’re vaping, we’re vaping,
So, you think you’ve found a tool 
For bending all the rules?
We’re vaping, we’re vaping,
C’mon have some fun, 
It won’t hurt anyone 
We’re vaping, we’re vaping,
Man, I think we’re vaping away

We’re vaping, we’re vaping,
We could have a ball 
All for one & one for all 
We’re vaping, we’re vaping,
It’s such a gas 
I think I’ll have to pass 
We’re vaping, we’re vaping,
Man, I think we’re vaping away

We’re vaping, we’re vaping
Don’t forget your Juuls
Ooo, you think you’re cool? 
We’re vaping, we’re vaping,
The smoke, it disappears 
Was it ever even here?
We’re vaping, we’re vaping, 
Man, I think we’re vaping away

All Rights Reserved. 
Isaac Rowlingson/Kiodea.

Vaping

This road I travel, no man knows 
I hold nothing dear
There’s no fire, no wind blows 
But the coast is clear  
Ever since I set to roam 
I can’t remember being home
If you should find my words unkind
Bid them drown & dry your eyes
On account of all my cryin’

Oh, my mother, I still feel
Your aged heart a-beating 
& for no other, I would steal 
Into the night, though it is fleeting 
Ever since I’ve been away 
My eyes grow greener by the day 
But I’m too blind to read the signs 
Your guess is as good as mine 
On account of all my cryin’

& my father, who with full-crazed tongue 
Has yet infected mine
Yon back by the elder tree 
Is where we drew the line 
Until we meet again
In another where & when 
Don’t look behind, it just reminds 
That the air is full of chimes 
On account of all my cryin’

Oh, my sister, as I roved out 
Into the foggy evening 
I was with you, though without, 
Of what use is believing?
I heard that he’s a boy
A bundle of joy
I’m doin’ fine, still buyin’ time 
Another day, another rhyme
On account of all my cryin’

& brother, my only brother,
Out on the lone horizon
Far between the flash & roar 
I see another sun is risin’ 
Go tell him it’s from me 
& tell him that it’s free 
When you lay it on the line 
It’s paid for by & by
On account of all my cryin’

To all the ladies that I’ve loved 
Though ring did lack 
Oh, that the wings of a dove 
Could take me flyin' back 
For it’s true love that I miss 
Though it betrays with a kiss
Pay no mind, it’s just the wine  
Here’s to us, one more time 
On account of all my cryin’

& many a good friend that I’ve known 
Did fall from grace
There’s no direction, nowhere to go, 
There is no path to trace
If I had a coin to toss 
I’d just be at a loss
For my innocence I've pined
But guilt has undermined
On account of all my cryin’

As for me, I’m on a train 
They say we’re rollin’ in 
All I can see is this pourin’ rain 
& they won’t tell us when
Where I’ve been I can’t regret
Where I’m bound I can’t forget
My face & hands are full of lines  
Runnin’ straight out of time
On account of all my cryin’

Oh, moon river, swift flowing river
Will peace ever come?
If it be your will that I should be delivered 
May you save my son
A light is creeping through the cracks
My, you're pretty from the tracks 
So with that, I say goodbye
Though forever, I will lie
On account of all my cryin’

Isaac Rowlingson/Kiodea
All Rights Reserved © (2021)

On Account Of All My Cryin’

Green Rocky Road (Trad.)

Murder most foul, all the people howl
The rage in the streets won’t take a seat
Till justice is served & they get what they deserve
It’s fire in the hole of a death toll
The only tear they shed was tear gas
Blood being bled like a catholic mass
Got a concussion now in place of discussion
We can’t breathe, no, we can’t breathe

Not my president, just an accident
Don’t wanna see your face till it’s replaced
Was wearing a mask too much to ask?
You got hell to pay, you & your toupee
Got so much wealth but so little hope
People are hanging themselves on their own rope
You’re such a riot maybe you oughta try it
We can’t breathe, no, we can’t breathe

If the Bible’s just a prop could it excuse the cop
Who killed an innocent man with his greedy hand?
What do you say when you kneel to pray?
The news is breaking, they are trouble making?
You live under a rock because you can
You don’t care about the lay of the land
Double-trouble & toil just give me the oil
We can’t breathe, no, we can’t breathe

America the lie, the log in your eye
From la grange to the free-range
Rome is burning, the tide it is turning
At the feast of the gods, just silent nods
They put a gun to his head & a knee to his neck
For their daily bread & a paycheck
Take it off, turn your head & cough
We can’t breath, no, we can’t breathe

I hear someone’s running, but he’s just the second coming
If that’s the best they got, they can both rot
We’re flipping the script, now who’s getting whipped?
All your expendable cogs & your vicious dogs
The revolt is near & it’s knocking at your door
I think we’ve been here once or twice before
You put it up for sale, the whole fairy tale
We can’t breathe, no, we can’t breathe

If you wanna know what I think you better grab a drink
At this point in the season you’ve committed treason
When I saw you shrug all smug as you called them thugs
I wanted to choke you out till there was nothing left to doubt
Oh, for seven days & seven nights
The flag was frayed along with our rights
Looting & shooting till there’s no more refuting
We can’t breathe, no, we can’t breathe 

All Rights Reserved. 
Isaac Rowlingson.

We Can't Breathe (For George Floyd)

If I were a poet 
In the court of King James 
All my wooing you know it 
Would only be in vain 
Got you under my skin  
No, you never can win 
When duped by Cupid’s dart 
That stupid change of heart

My dream catcher’s 
Two sheets to the wind
 Feel like M.C. Escher 
Where do I even begin?
 Loves me, loves me not 
These mixed messages I've got 
Yes, it truly is an art 
But dually a change of heart

You're a paradox, you're Sappho—a nebula to me  
Over the rainbow, lost in the stars
 Out on the rocks of Lesbos, with sweet Calliope
 Wherever we go, there we are

Now I’ve heard riddles 
& contemplated zen kōans
 Split my fiddle 
Imitating Leonard Cohen 
Read the Psalms & Solomon's song 
On every palm there’s something wrong  
Along that middle part 
A little change of heart

Played Kings & I’ve played Pharaohs, common folk & fools, 
& even a Russian Czar 
Weathered the slings & arrows, broken all the rules, 
Searching near & far

I’ve consulted oracles 
& the I-Ching 
Tend to get historical  
Mulling over everything 
Slipped a note under the door 
All she wrote was “Nevermore”
 Such a strange way to depart 
What a change, a change of heart

All Rights Reserved. 
Isaac Rowlingson.

Change of Heart

Her emerald eyes & raven hair
Her pendulum clock hypnotic stare
Her cheap disguise the breathless air 
I breathe
Her feathered gown & wooden broom 
A one-track town in the afternoon
I was hanging around, how could you assume
I didn’t see?

Your beauty, yes it fills the room 
As we lay in the golden tomb
The long forgotten maze
& the smoke it fills the air
As I look up & stare
Into your haze
I am coming through,
Gypsy

Her crystal necklace & silhouette 
On the long night that I can't forget
Her dancing flame & cowboy hat
Her ruby ring hung down 
By the stars of the darkest night
The rising tide shining so bright
The diamond sands we kept in sight
For the time

I travelled to the moon just to find you
& if I spoke too soon may I remind you 
Of what's behind
Every time you look into the mirror
& it looks back at you
& says, "I know
How you feel,
Gypsy…"

The hollow birds they begin to shout
As the rain pours down without a shadow of doubt
It's dark in here, won’t you let me out
Of the cave?
The rusted pipes they begin to break 
& the endless curtain it begins to drape
Over a cold cut coffin & heavens gate
This can’t be everyday

Your caravan has roamed far & wide
& behind the puppet strings you hide
The cards you play
You got the world in the palm of your hand
But you're on the tip of my tongue 
Don't you understand? 
I won’t let you fall,
Gypsy

& in the saloon I get a faded feeling 
As the tears slip slowly through the crooked ceiling
As I dry my eyes as my skin is peeling 
It all comes back the same
But now the fog is lifted from her unveiled face 
& her mind has shifted right out of place 
& in my heart remains the empty space
Of a memory 

Here she sits waiting for the day to begin
As I sit dreaming about the rain again
As her gin floods my head
Ah, but you & I are like day & night
I’m weary eyed & I
Must say, "Goodnight,
For I am falling fast,
Gypsy…"

All Rights Reserved 2016.
Isaac Rowlingson.

Gypsy

Lazy ass people who have no life
The kind you just can’t stand 
You’d pour cold water on their lousy heads 
But they're buried in the sand
They’ve got nothing else better to do 
& they know not of peace or strife 
Coming soon to a couch near you 
Lazy ass people who have no life

Lazy ass people who have no life 
They’ve got nowhere to go 
& when they finally choose to make a move 
Their move it comes too slow 
Couldn’t keep up with a parade of sheep 
& they play no drums or fife 
Nah, they ain’t dead, they’re just asleep 
Lazy ass people who have no life

Lazy ass people who have no life 
Don’t have much to say 
They just can’t admit it to themselves
That they’re wasting their lives away 
& they’re offering nothing to this green earth 
But in self-pity they are rife 
I guess that's just how they judge their worth 
Lazy ass people who have no life 

Lazy ass people who have no life 
Never leave their homes
They sit there checking on their news feeds 
Like a bunch of garden gnomes 
We oughta round em up & make em hunt
hand em each a knife 
Must be something in this god-a-mighty world they want 
Lazy ass people who have no life 

Lazy ass people who have no life
Ain’t it a crying shame? 
They want someone else who’s just like them 
So they can share the blame 
& get on along, not doing shit, 
But now with a husband or wife 
Who knows, for them, this song might be a hit, 
Lazy ass people who have no life 

All Rights Reserved. 
Isaac Rowlingson.

Lazy Ass People Who Have No Life

Tell the world a little bit about your self. The shorter the better.

Kiodea

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