Holy Hell

Holy Hell!
What are you doing here!
No I don't want you to leave,
not after you've come all this way.
Come in, come in.

Sorry,
I don't really know how to make coffee.
Don't drink it myself.
Sit down.
You've come too far to not stay a while.
Here, you look cold.
My mom knit it.
It's decaf, you'll sleep fine.

I have to ask,
why are you here?
I mean, this is a few hundred miles from your home.
You have to have a reason, right?

He did what?
No I don't think your crazy.
If you needed to get away,
then I'm glad you came here.
Space helps you think,
trust me, I know.

Did I ever tell you about my trip?
The one I took last year?
It came on the end of some hard times.
I was away from it all for a while,
met some new people,
saw some new places.
Thought some new thoughts.
Distance helps.

Hey, remember summer, a few years ago?
Those were some fun times.
Breakin' some rules,
trying not to get in trouble.
That one couple took issue with us,
when we were by the lake,
on their beach property.
But we got away before they caught us.

Yeah, I remember that December.
When you moved away.
It was the right thing, I think.
At least at that time.
I know that's where you met him,
but you met a lot of other friends.
You had a good job,
got to put your degree to work.

I still have those letters you wrote.
Glad to know you got mine.
Yeah, I should have written more as well.
We got busy.
It happens.
I don't think it means we drifted apart.

You still go to church?
Ha, yeah.
I know how hard it is to find one.
At least one you like.
Has to feel like home, right?
If you're sticking around for a few days,
you can come back with me.
I'm sure everyone will want to see you.

My bed is upstairs,
that's where you'll sleep.
I'll take the couch.
No, I won't hear your protests.
You need some real sleep.

I mean it, I'm glad you're here.
I'll show you around tomorrow,
though there isn't much here.
Good night, I'll see you when you wake.

No More Than A Feeling?

Where does it come from?
Where does it go?
Why does it always get riled up
by that stupid country music?
Blake and Brad and even Taylor,
They seem to have it distilled.
And they put it into their music.
And it goes straight to my heart.

Sure, we all want to love.
To have some one.
To hold hands.
To hold each other.
To fight and make up.
To look long and close eyes.
Intimacy.

I'm the same.
At least I think I am.
I have no experience with it,
but I know that I want it.

The real question isn't new.
What to do about it.
This is me we're talking about.
Confidence and fear
inseparable in me.
An apparently they're fighting.
Each keeps the other at bay.
In the end, stagnation.

Kind of pointless now.
I'm in the middle of nowhere.
Isolated to the extreme.
In the future, maybe time to change.
But that's what I thought last year.
And the year before that.
And the year before that.

Maybe, for me at least,
Boston was wrong.
It isn't anything more than a feeling.
Just a feeling.

Pioneer, Pioneer

Pioneer, Pioneer

Has love for the land here

And holds your freedom dear.

Yet called to new frontier.

 Left behind home and peer.

Pioneer, Pioneer

Sails waters crystal clear.

Against storms without fear,

To fight those that would jeer

At home and flag held dear.

Pioneer, Pioneer

From the hot sun nadir.

Straw hat and rakish cheer.

Tending plants with revere.

To us all, you endear.

Pioneer, Pioneer

Lovely saint in cashmere.

Maybe not mortal mere.

Sees us in our first year,

Wipe away every tear.

Pioneer, Pioneer

Despite ignorant jeers,

Your work throws away fear.

With words, paint, or veneer,

We’ll see at the premier

Pioneer, Pioneer

Test tubes and beakers clear.

Such a thankless career.

But knowledge is so dear.

Don white coats, stay cohere.

Pioneer, Pioneer

To heavens far from here.

A roar blasting your ear .

Locked in your skyward spear

To those celestial tears.

Pioneer, Pioneer

Why did you disappear?

Before, you were inhere.

Now do I see your bier?

Have you gone, Pioneers?

Pioneer, Pioneer

Is there too great a fear

Of leaving comfort here?

To from the known path veer

And bland sameness adhere?

Pioneer, Pioneer

It will not be this drear.

There is still passion clear,

And strong hearts without fear.

They will be Pioneers.