Anthem for the Pessimist, by Amory McKeever

We are all milk carton missing

Welcome to the great soup kitchen

Wrapped in coats of the cheapest stitching
A shelter till your toes stop twitching

Like ants who see gods in the mirror

Our godless plans become much clearer

Hungry wolves fool the sheep nearer

When dying alone is all that it fears

Even a whisper can sway the ghost

So zealots sing and scream the most

Such rats for the piper coast to coast

As if they had forever to boast

Of prizes before the contest begins

Of saviors before we learn how to sin

Tossed in the waters expected to swim

In a universe of oblivious spin

There are no strings attached to this

Just dumb luck the meteors miss

Subtle signs we learn to dismiss

Easy to ignore in moments of bliss

Even easier in places where misery is

This is not a song of hopelessness

It is an Anthem for the Pessimist

So if you love someone give them a kiss

It might just be the last kiss to exist

Medusa, by Amory McKeever

The first

She brought from the bar

Motocross fan

In his Alpinestars

Easily forgot his name

But the way he rode her

Brought him fame

Second fella

She met at the station

Nomadic guitarist

Without destination

The way he gave her the shocker

Is all she remembers

Of that faceless rocker

Three now

On a trip from Saxony

Filled every hole

With their throbbing anatomy

Who they were I don't recall

But if I fuck her now

I'm fucking them all

The Moment Before, by Amory McKeever

There was a meeting long ago

between a lonely engineer,

a chemical biologist,

and a brave pioneer.

Joining with them soon enough

was a host of ready volunteers,

a highly skilled machinist,

and a gung-ho bombardier.

They would not settle for this alone,

and hired a talented pamphleteer,

a studied sociologist,

and a crafty financier.

To spread the word far and wide

to all upstanding cavaliers,

or willing archaeologist,

in search of souvenirs.

They called upon courageous chaps

who raised a toast of frothy beers,

a renowned anthropologist,

who would record their cheers and jeers.

They brought together all their thoughts,

and abandoned all their fears,

with the approval of a physicist,

made the Universe appear.

Such ideas beautifully scattered

across an infinite frontier

along came the theologist

to christen this celestial sphere.

If I could invent a time machine,

and travel back to any year,

ask any other chronologist,

the beginning is where I'd steer.

Dreamworlds, by Amory McKeever

Upon the strength of Achilles shield

Grows an unrelenting wild

And over peaks that forever crest

Is the place of Homer's child

Far beyond the woodland realm

Past the world of mortal men

Deep beneath the Misty Mountains

Lies the grave of Tolkien's pen

From the reaches of a Silent Planet

Through a wardrobe portal still

Only Mr. Tumnus knows

Where to find the Lewis quill

Take the shortcut given by Mrs. Todd

You will pass a store of needful things

Follow the clues from the Losers Club

And you'll soon meet the novel King

From this dream you won't want to wake

A world full of might and magic

So different from the world we have

This unforgiving ball of tragic

I Wish, by Amory McKeever

I wish I was a dog

I'm certain many people do

Fetching newspapers in the fall

Frisbee's when the summer skies are blue

Never ever worried

No never overwhelmed at all

I wish I was a dog

I'm sure that many people would

Taken care of by our best friend

In the best way that a best friend ever could

Knowing our happiness mutually depends

I wish I was a dog

But I'm almost certain that I'm not

Like everyone I'm overwhelmed and under-loved

Worried about getting things I haven't got

Just feeling pushed, pulled, and shoved 

I wish I was a dog

Running through the park with the wind in my fur

On a perfect sunny day ne'er a reason to panic

My tongue hanging from a smile as I blur

Oh no I'm just a man chasing a ball into traffic

Surrender, by Amory McKeever

It's quitter talk

I'm fluent in

Like hallelujah

When you can't win

Just stay down

Let go of hope

Seeing double

Rope a dope

Pack it in

Blow this town

Walk away

Retreat again

From debts unpaid

Fuel the jet

Today's the day

I love my wife

And I love my son

That rearview life

What's done is done

Can't look back

What's left behind

Is just whiplash

To break your neck

Leave you tamed

Beast of burden

Total wreck

Hallow eyed

Empty handed

Shell-shocked pride

Given in

To giving up

Ten count landed

Enough's enough

No secret chord

Or marble arch

There's no victory

Just a march

Into the mire

Soul worn thin

Guess I'm history

And mortal sin

For here I halt

And lay down sword

So damn tired

Of fighting wars

I've won nothing

But more scars

Wounds for salt

To please the Lord

5:5, by Amory McKeever

There's no gain without pain

No way out without prayin'

No time I can't stay

Appointment's already made

A bolt action with blood stains

A dead rapist with no name

To me, they're all the same

Just a bullet hitting a brain

No I'm not playin'

The rules of the game

Have just changed

My war will be waged

My cause will be praised

But not for my grace

I'm known in all places

With no hate

But for those who rape and murder

With no statement

Their bodies in my basement

A lake of fire you can't face it

No cops will be chasin'

They can't keep with my pace

Besides, they believe in my ways

Their hands are tied

But mine can calm waves

Now this is the cross

I need to take up

So I open my hands

And place in them a gun

I'm so fucking angry

Because no one is taking

The lives of these criminals

Who keep on breaking the system

And turn it around on their victims

And the law won't admit

Sacrifices need to be made

To change all this shit

So if this is the life

You want for your child

Understand it may take them awhile

To learn how to breathe

When they open their eyes just to see

That the world you gave them

Wasn't ready for me

To become the angel of death

Not the first but the best

And I won't fucking rest

Until I put away the evil that infests

The streets of my city

This is what happens

When you don't punish the guilty

The preachers sheets

have gotten so filthy

There's no where left to turn

No more second chances to earn

The time has come

For some souls to burn

And the stars in the sky

Are just holes in your mind

Flashes of light

As the first hit 'em high

Then five more with their names on the side

Fly through the air

Like the changing of time

Until Ward Weaver's in a grave

Miranda and Ashley are safe

In the arms of the Savior

I'll get a key from the Mayor

And shove it down his throat

For molesting his neighbor

And for all this behavior

They'll come to arrest me

But a light from above will caress me

A voice will address me

Saying

"This is my son,

with whom I am well pleased"

Then those who look on

Will fall to their knees

As a third of the world

Turns to dust in the breeze

I, Battle Hymn, by Amory McKeever

Armed with invincible breath

And sewn from unbreakable skin

I march in the face of my death

Towards a certain unshakable end

Thus always to tyrants my sword

My shield to stretcher my soul 

Dare not pray my fate to the Lord 

For salvation was never the goal

The aim was to bleed, sweat, and toil 

Until my spirit shines as the Sun 

That Liberty may grow from the soil 

And Freedom is what I become

Unreal, by Amory McKeever

I'm always fighting alien invaders

Arresting crooked wall street traders

I boldly go where no one has gone

Discover a planet full of Klingon's

My friends and I are Wolverines!

With fathers actually worth avenging

Steve McQueen chases me in Bullitt

Billy Ray Cyrus admires my mullet

I'm surrounded by zombies hungry for brains!

Lucky my shotgun shells never drain

I'm elected President in 2040

and do it with YouTube rather than money

All of these memories I wish I could keep

Why oh why can't I ever die in my sleep?

I'm so important you want my autograph

I'm the most fascinating person, Barbara Walters says that

I tell a joke so funny Chuck Norris cries

We cure cancer with his tears saving millions of lives

I forgive my father of his many sins

and stop dwelling on my might-have-beens

I'm the husband I promised that I would be

and write out all my apologies

My woman loves me without condition

she stands beside me during the demolition

I rebuild myself better and finally

my son looks up to me excitedly

All of these memories I wish I could keep

Why oh why can't I ever die in my sleep?

Just So You Know, by Amory McKeever

I'll do all of this babe

just so you know

I'll do all these things

before I ever let you go

I'll crawl through the butterflies

killed for the spider

Bury myself in charcoal
and light my own lighter
I'll give up my organs
my freedom and more

Run into a padded cell

and let 'em lock the door

I'll face down the dragons

your tongue might release

Pray away the demons

so your faith may increase

I'll do all of this babe

just so you know

I'll do all these things

before I ever let you go

I'll walk north and walk south

east or out west

Come to the mountainside

and climb without rest

I'll blister and frostbite

chap my lips in the wind

Endure every cruelty

and never hope for the end

I'll stand on the dark side

where the sun doesn't glow

Scream down the avalanche

and die in the snow

I'll do all of this babe

just so you know

I'll do all these things

before I ever let you go

I'll do all of this babe

just so you know

I'll do all these things

before I ever let you go

<Image Ice Climb by Hanne Lore Koehler>

The Gospel of Galileo, by Amory McKeever

Oh my boundless church 

Stained glass surrounds the Earth

My bible belt orbits a star
From it's pulpit preaches far

To a congregation built of clouds

Noble gases that geyser out

Into the open palms of my eyes

An unspoken psalm to sackcloth skies

Adorned with miracles of flashing lights

Which war like angels about to die

And in their clashing sparks do fly

Each spark a seed that brings new life

Burgundy, by Amory McKeever

Twas harrowed in the fall,
and sprouted in the spring
Surely the center of it all,
such a spoiled little thing
Now mash under his feet,
until it becomes a pulp
Never will it taste complete
Still we gulp, gulp, gulp
and stumble drunkenly along
making senseless talk
and singing worthless songs
yet claim we walked the walk

So take a little swill

this is better than an pill

to adjust the way you feel

I promise the good Lord will distill

this Burgundy

More important we should know,
like chardonnay before the wine
That grapes are meant to grow,
not wilt along the vine
Come rain or come shine,
the farmer plants a new sprout
With the patience heaven refined,
by our work we wore him out

Then wrenched his tired hands
broken calloused over skin
Whom pulled the soil over man
To sow the seeds again

So take a little swill

this is better than a pill

to adjust the way you feel

I promise the good Lord will distill

this Burgundy

And again and again no more,
will he try to make it right
The most bitter Chablis to pour,
is the one that ends a life

Has our spirit lost its flavor?

Have we spilled away his favor?

What will he cork and cask,
If it's all of rotten fruit?

Not even worthy of a flask

tucked into Satan's boot

So take a little swill

this is better than a pill

to adjust the way you feel

I promise the good Lord will distill

this Burgundy