IT'S ONLY ENDING

Between the nonsense and the mundane,
I dreamt the basement flooded to our knees again.

Holding off reminders that won't relent, 
I lose my grip sometimes, but just 'cause I forget
it's only ending.

You had these flashes of brilliant wit. 
You'd goof it up sometimes, but I knew what you meant. 

I hunt for blessings under disguises. 
I hunt for blessings, and there must be, otherwise 
it's only ending.

Without a loser, without a prize, 
there wasn't bloodshed, it was tidy and besides, 
it's only ending.

So yeah, I'm begging you to stop pretending you can wield composure like a tool. If you can tell me that it's only ending, can I tell you that you're only cruel?


It's Only Ending

THERE IN SPIRT

she was looking through the window
she was looking through herself reflected 
'gainst the darkeness of the room 
in which he slept

but she turned away from shelter
took the chopper from the barn
headed to casino city
with a pack of tarot cards

and though sleepwalking he searches
for the star upon her brow
underneath her breath, she whispers,
"sorry that I left you."

"I'll be there in spirit now.
Couldn't bear to stick around,
but I'll be there in spirit now."



There In Spirit

lyrics:

She still smells the grease of the flame
Lanterns on the rise in the blue mist of the palisade 
Flashbacks to a time and a place
the boardwalk unabridged 
and the soft breath of pornography he left 

You gotta build something to break even
I gotta build something to break even 

She still smells the grease of the flame
flipping through her Vogue, in the detergent of new money 
and she still paints her face the same way
She's careful not to change, so it'll be like he remembers it 

You gotta build something to break even 

She still smells the grease of the flame
walking through the monuments she contemplates charity 
she still feels her hand on the chain 
threaded as a rail 
to the pillars 
on the palisade

You gotta build something to break even 

Build Something / Break Even

WATCHING EVERY CHANNEL AT ONCE 

A guy gets kind of tired 
of making up his mind 
'bout what he'll have to tape 
and what he watches live 

The volume's up on every box 
there're soundtracks and opinions 
These noises I can take or leave 
in following my vision 

Every girl that moved out 
left a TV at my place 
I couldn't DVR it all 
there wasn't any space 

Local, satellite, and cable 
getting in the zone 
Move your eyes until you're satisfied 
You don't need a remote 

I'm through with surfing round 
(Watching every channel at once) 
brain waves just chillin' out 
(Watching every channel at once) 
tv breakfast lunch and dinner 
(Watching every channel at once)

mary hartman, mary hartman

Watching Every Channel At Once

CURSE

Outside the darkness rages
In here's a cruel demon
I reach to touch her face but i can only feel my own hand
I can't discern the boundaries in this dream

What pulls me through the morning
What sends me out in a hearse 
Sometimes I get this feeling like I was born with a curse
I get so close to watch it slip away.  

Curse

GORE OF THE ROSE

the gore of the rose
awash in the shade
comedic the pose
when you're getting laid 

sabbatical nights
forever and gone
obeying the grave
getting it on

in time



The Gore Of The Rose

PAINTED FROM MEMORY

I recognize this
This is that trip to
Henry's old haunt

the veneer of the lake
and scribbles of wind the
shadows are gone 

you, captured with a smile 
Hyperreal drafted in your style

uncanny how true
the form of the clouds
without any flaw

conveniently
you always leave out
what's hardest to draw

you, captured with a smile 
Hyperreal drafted in your style

But something's not right, looks like it's painted from memory
A photo would show all the darkness under my eyes 
The color's a scheme to cover what isn't appealing
The figment of love in the pigment of your designs


Painted From Memory

DESTINY

Forever's just a matter of time
As long as you're along for the ride
I don't mind steering

But Destiny is painting her nails
Death was on her trail when she asked me,
"Are we nearly there? How much long must we drive?"

One and the same
The serpent a highway
Eating itself

One and the same
the lovers are riding

If you're staying for a drink anyway,
why not chill till the blistering sun has faded?

Take a second to imagine a scene:
A headlight cuts through a dream
An old casino gleams across the water far away.

And one and the same
The serpent a highway
Eating itself

One and the same
The lovers are riding

Forever

Destiny

THE LUNAR MARTINI MOTORWAY

"...but that was when i was young," she said 
lighting her smoke by the generator
fox headed coal hound i should've known back then right
now and i'd be doing better

around the never ending corner 
she's throwing her head back in a laugh for the saints
"we ran out of road on the lunar martini motorway…"

"...but that was when i was young," she said 
lighting a smoke by the generator,
"fox headed coal hound i should've known back then right
now and i'd be doing better"


The Lunar Martini Motorway

SONATA

I was pacing for distraction in a marble arcade 
and heard somebody's voice
talking to herself she looked like Lauren Bacall
palm trees in a line

"How can you dance in a suit when it's 80 degrees?" 
and she turned to the keys to resume her writing

water condensing on the pipes in the loo 
red clay in the hall
I sit on the veranda revisiting scenes 
I put them under review
 
I knew at the time we were through. I’ve not forgotten
the afternoon that she debuted her new sonata
with a cruel theme

smokey in the deco of the city at night
handwriting runs in the rain
neon bottles blinking in a spasm of fog
I read what little remains

"How can you dance in a suit when it's 80 degrees?" 
and she turned to the keys to resume her writing

recollections like a mirror in a hot shower
too humid to find                                                                                   
the chapel overgrown and her studio room
glass staining the light

I knew at the time we were through. I’ve not forgotten
the afternoon that she debuted her new sonata
with a cruel theme

it went like this

Sonata

Written, recorded, and mixed by Slonk Donkerson in 24 hours for Speak Into My Good Eye's annual challenge. Visit https://speakimge.bandcamp.com/album/the-3rd-annual-24-hour-songwriting-challenge to listen to all the bands' submissions and purchase. All proceeds go to support City of Angels NJ (guiding and supporting people through addiction recovery).

The 3rd Annual 24 Hour Songwriting Challenge

Cassanova's At It Again

Casanova's At It Again

THE EDIFICE 

There is not a path only the bearded, balding father pointing 
Through the litter of the past and bracken of the future, pointing 

The romance of the distance
The trumpet that we’re sure we may have heard 
We walk ‘cause others walked before us and we’ve 
Got to take their word 

High valleys, crushing plains 
We’ve learned to love the way of life, the quest 
That we’ve been given 
Trudging on by day 
The memory remains of faces under-lit by fire 
Old familiar glow of paint and poem 
As powerful as words the faces spoke: 

“Reach for the Edifice 
Our fathers built it with their hands 
This is a pilgrimage 
This is the song that never ends”

The Edifice

Track 2 off the "Watching Every Channel At Once" EP

_____________________
WATCHING EVERY CHANNEL AT ONCE

A guy gets kind of tired 
of making up his mind 
'bout what he'll have to tape
and what he watches live

The volume's up on every box
there're soundtracks and opinions
These noises I can take or leave 
in following my vision

Every girl that moved out 
left a TV at my place
I couldn't DVR it all
there wasn't any space

Local, satellite, and cable 
getting in the zone
Move your eyes until you're satisfied
You don't need a remote

I'm through with surfing round 
(Watching every channel at once) 
brain waves just chillin' out 
(Watching every channel at once) 
tv breakfast lunch and dinner 
(Watching every channel at once)

Slonk Donkerson

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