Putting the Dog to Sleep

Prove to me

I’m not gonna die alone.

Put your arm around my collarbone,

and open the door.

Don’t lie to me

if you’re putting the dog to sleep,

that pet you just couldn’t keep,

and couldn’t afford.

Well prove to me

I’m not gonna die alone.

Unstitch that shit I’ve sewn,

to close up the hole

that tore through my skin.

Well my trust in you

is a dog with a broken leg,

tendons too torn to beg

for you to let me back in.

You said, “I can’t prove to you

you’re not gonna die alone,

but trust me to take you home,

to clean up that blood all over your paws.

“You can’t keep running out,

kicking yourself off the bed,

kicking yourself in the head,

because you’re kicking me too.”

Put your trust in me,

I’m not gonna die alone.

Put your trust in me,

I’m not gonna die alone...

I don’t think so...

Corsicana

By the time that we woke up,

we couldn’t stop the sparks,

we couldn’t see outside,

when the curtains fell apart.

We couldn’t hear the books

when the pages curled away.

We should shut that window

we both left open now.

We lost our chance to run,

now the door’s too hot too touch.

We should hold our breath

with mouths together now.

Hounds

So loud,

so loud,

slow down,

slow hound.

They want to conquer you,

abandon you.

I want to burden you,

belong to you.

They want to think for you,

pour drinks into you.

They want to look at you,

while I look everywhere for you.

I want to sever you,

defend against you.

I want to speak for you,

as if I know what you’ll do.

Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out

One bad night I’ll hold the glass

until the glass can hold me down.

And one bad night I’ll spill and spill

until my feet begin to drown.

One bad night I’ll hear you calling me

to help you not pass out.

You and I, divine but not devout,

every night my teeth are falling out.

Try it, try it, try it

Try it, try it, try it, try it

Get your jaw off the floor

One dumb night I’ll make a point

to take an old verboten route.

And one dumb night I’ll take you out,

to the bar we've both blacked out.

One dumb night two bad decisions

don’t divide to cancel out.

You and I, divorced but not devout,

every night my teeth are falling out.

Rolled Together

Rolled together with a burning paper heart.

Pulled together but about to burst apart,

rolled together with a burning paper heart.

No Widows

If I never get back home,

there's no garden overgrown,

no widows in the walls,

no widows left alone,

No shirts to hang or fold,

no kid out in the cold,

no widows on the walls,

no widows on the phone.

If I'm stuck out here alone,

if I'm stranded here all year,

with just nothing left at home,

no widows disappear.

If the wheels jump off the road,

there's no widows left to know,

no perfect love above,

no punishment below.

When they shake,

say the wings won't break.

Parentheses

One broken wing,

soaring and suffering,

arm in a sling,

I don't owe you anything.

I’m a bad absentee,

you know when I want to leave.

So close up your knees,

and I'll close your parentheses.

I’m a bad amputee,

with no phantom memory.

So close up your knees,

and I'll close your parentheses.

French Exit

Every time we speak,

you are spitting in my mouth.

If I don’t take you somewhere else,

I'm gonna pull my teeth right out.

Every time we meet,

you are shrieking in my ear.

If I don’t take you somewhere else,

you're gonna make this insincere, come on.

Everyone I loved,

kept me tangled in my heart.

You’ll tie that knot a bit too loose,

not enough to tease apart, come on.

Everyone I hold

holds me strangled, sweet and smart.

I’m not a puppy you take home,

don’t bother trying to fix my heart.