FV: Johnny Four didn’t wanna be alive no more; couldn't’ bear to take another early shift up at the store. He hustled all those years but he always wanted more; he’d be gigging on the weekends, early crowds of three or four. Now every job’s a dead end if you never get ahead, and maybe if you dream of work you might as well be dead. ’Cause androids got electric sheep and no nightmares to dread, so they hire the automatons that don’t need to be fed.

Now his messiah complex was not that complicated; homie hit the dip at thirty-three and then his shit got famous. Gave a scarlet letter to the shit that he was saying, but they put it in a book, flipped the script and then reclaimed it. But Johnny picked a bone ‘cause he’s a stickler for the rules, said “If Jesus was a person, then he’s just like me and you. There’s no special dispensation for the actions that we choose; he just thought for forty days and then the fucker gave up too. Said his daddy told him ‘why not?’ so he got to follow through, so bouncing out when shit gets hard is just what J would do.” He ran the math from A to Z and made two-column proofs. “Man my shit is so legit it’s just the smartest thing to do. One more shift and then I get to follow through.”

Now nobody better never ever tell my Id what Johnny did, ‘cause I don’t ever trust that fucker what ideas get in his head. I don’t say this shit to shock or to scare you or amuse, I just figure someone’s gotta get across poor Johnny’s views.

Johnny Four didn’t wanna be alive no more; had it up to here with this shitshow world. Took a twenty from the till for a forty and some rope; never one to be didactic, so he didn’t leave a note. Just a little Olde English and a swollen blue throat, and the piss pants his fam found him in, hanging, shrivelled and soaked. And I guess we count the trauma of his loved ones I suppose; it’s the fodder where us bottleneckers got to stick our nose. But someone’s gotta do it. Yeah, you gotta feed the beast. Man, you hate to see it but nobody’s losing sleep. Empathetic cause I’ve been there, but a body’s gotta eat -- and I’m finally feeling hungry, so I’d say I’m on my feet.

I like to think about God. At least the concept of consequence, and how our love is our bond. At least a point of connection. I try to picture a pond that’s full of fish of all size; and no matter who dies, ripples come when they rise. You always sense a disturbance. It’s like a Roadhouse performance when you suddenly cry. I want to leave your eyes dry. With my actions I swear I’ll be better. I’ll follow the script to the T and the letter. Yes I am Frankie, but Teardrop I’m not. I swear I’ll survive to be Prince of the pond.

Yes I am Frankie, but Teardrop I’m not. I swear I’ll survive to be Prince of the pond.


sTG: so i’m standing here, chamber to my cheek, ‘cause it’s nothing but the worst dangers they save for the meek. ‘cause it’s no shiny angel gonna come walk through the fire with me, it’s just sparks through a wire. better chances dancing with the devil, bury your kids with a ransom note and hope you never see therapy. deep in a firetruck like my daddy’s a fucking failure if you ask me, might as well get buried up to my neck and left to the sea. yeah yeah, you’re telling me i’m too young to die and i get it but shit, if Johnny did it so can i...

i suppose you could pick up a few shells on your way back from the beach, back to your home with stocked shelves heated pool massage seats. but when you look around at all the souvenirs newly lining your mantelpiece, clutching a drink in your hand i hope you think of me, there in the sand, and pray Poseidon doesn’t take pity on the weak.

Pray Poseidon doesn’t take pity on the weak.

FC:
I stole a short you left on the porch, jesus wept in the court, irish goodbyes like a sport, you’d be bummed to know how low i stooped.

She denounced the party. everybody’s here to denounce the party.

Bummed out on unpublished berman poems repurposed into demos with all the killer lines redacted. Everything’s changing all the time and by the time you realize, it’s too late.
if you die at the beach, then you die in real life. when you leave hit the lights, wavy while the ocean’s rising, no saints watching paint dry, so tell me whose life is alright and i’ll tell you who’s living a lie.

I just want to be consumed by you. i want to be packaged, processed, stocked on a shelf and sold in a store near you. my medicine makes me the kind of person who smiles for no reason. watch as the witch burns in the rearview.

Resigned to the fact that i’ll never make enough to retire, rewind to the days when i never needed reminders, my mind’s running late, can’t relate, how much time left? out of pocket, out of face, a marathon i run in place, out of sight, out of mind, out of space, out of time, out of fucks but i’ll be fine, what’s the harm in living just for one more night. what’s the harm in living just for one more night? what’s the... what’s...

What’s good? good karma, good faith, good bye, good god, good book, good day, good mood, good moon, good the goods (got the goods. good looking, good looking out) good taste, the good life, good riddance, the time of your life. good boy, good girl, good person, good heart, a good head on her shoulders, good natured, good nurture. goodness gracious, good days, good faces, good long while, good for you, good for me, good for now, good for nothing.
good thinking, good for your word, all good dogs go to heaven. good game, good show, good shit, good shot, good try, good as new. good winter, goodie two-shoes, good things come to those who wait, let the good times roll. all good things come to an end. good grades, good dreams, good ass job, good deeds, good reads, goodie proctor. good doctor.
good one. good time, good fortune, good fun. good luck, goodnight, goodbye...

What’s the harm in living just for one more night?