IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Today is April 10th of the year 2005
it’s Sunday, and I met in the park with George
we ate some Indian food, took a carousel ride
and talked like we were sitting on some back country porch
In the park, some people were laying in the sun
while others sought out the shade
just like some people like to lay it all out on the line
and others keep under cover cause they’re just too afraid
I think you’re really beautiful and I might love you
and I think I might like to be with you
if you ever decided you wanted me to
George and I took off our shoes
and felt the new grass between our toes
we talked about the sky, and well-known strangers in the news
and our friends’ sex lives,
and secrets nobody else knows
I kissed him good-bye at about 4:00
and now it’s a quarter to 10
I just left him a message, he didn’t pick up
I told him a joke and wondered when I would see him again
Give me a look, show me a sign
I set my alarm clock to your time
© Kathy Zimmer 2007
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MY FRIEND TO THE END
To me you’re like a hummingbird on the end of a tin can phone
you send me happy vibrations, I feel I’m never alone
when it’s cold outside you make Jack Frost designs on my window,
show the beauty in my pain
when there’s a terrible heat spell, cracks the earth and dries the well,
you stand by and assure me there’ll be rain
My friend to the end
To me you’re like a Jack o’Lantern with the light from your pirate smile
think I could waste a lifetime or two just shooting the breeze with you awhile
you’re a black magic book of spells with a hex for all my grudges, right or wrong
back me up even if I’ve backed into a corner
sew on my shadow when all the fairy dust is gone
My friend to the end
While the locket round my neck is empty, you’ve lent me your picture
just to fill up the space
give me your coat and your last pair of shoes
and your couch to crash on if I needed a place
I’d lay in your hands my beating heart, you’d protect it as your own
I realize you’re part of my fingerprint now
I know that I’m never alone
My friend to the end
connect the current
this circle
our arms extend
travel round again
and find my friend
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ARMS CROSSED
If it were winter I’d build a wall of snow
blockade you out of sight and mind,
shield from the ice you throw
I’d lie alone in the shape of an angel flying
On Election Day I’d draw the curtain closed
choose every name that wasn’t you,
I’d go right down the row
my intuition knows as my suspicion grows
it’s each one for his own
And I’m not gonna do this anymore
At your equator I now wear sunblock every day
I refuse to worship you when all I’ll do is age
no more rose-colored shades
at the break of day I’ll go my own way
© 2006 Kathy Zimmer
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SUMMER
This city’s full of carnies and sharks
brandishers of water guns and little dogs with great big barks
take to the street, you walk up and you walk down
doling out dough to the homeless
and souls to the soulless
on tiptoe above the undertow
pray that you don’t drown
You nod politely to all you meet
while you both follow the well-trod ruts of a million feet
that before you have carved up every floor
till finally you’ve got nothing left
but some worn-out sandals on the back of the shelf
and an empty water gun
with which to wage your war, your dynamic war
Let me be your everything
(everything here I’ve got)
anything worth the giving
(and whatever’s left that’s not)
A big man once told me I had to pay my dues
stretch myself as thin as paper, like the kind they use for the news
he smoked a cigar and drank expensive wine
and I noticed on the day he died
he had less love in his life than I have in mine
so sir, I think I’m doing fine
I’ve got some magic beans to grow a building up to King Kong
he’s the one in love with that girl, the drop-dead gorgeous blonde
got to get up to someplace where I can dangle my feet
and get some perspective on those millions of lives
that stop and go and clog up the street
cause someday we might meet
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ALL I NEED
You give me a glimmer on the street
of the washed-out stars I can’t see in the sky,
the stillness of morning-after peace
amidst radio snow with the volume up high
One look at you overrides the headline news
war today, debts to pay, hate falling from the sky
for a glimpse of this instant that floods from your eyes
I’d let all my tears run dry
There’s a path to be traveled that’s mine, and a name to be signed that says me
and as long as our paths intertwine once in awhile in the curve of your smile
that’s all I need
Don’t know where you are tonight or what plane you’re on
don’t know what’s on your mind tonight or if you’re thinking of me as I play this song
but I know that I’m wishing for you as my fingers search these six strings
I’m keeping my fingers crossed, we’ll see what wishing brings
Reach out towards the sky and catch a star if it starts to fall
let love paint graffiti on your wall
someday we’re bound into the earth to fall
and it’ll be as though we were never here at all
c. 2007 Kathy Zimmer
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WHATEVER GETS U THRU THE DAY
Like a junkie needs the needle
and a gravedigger needs some sun
like a daughter needs her daddy
and dogs need space to run
baby, it’s you
Like a sneaker needs the pavement
and a farmer smells fresh earth
like a rock star needs applause
and a wistful housewife needs to know her worth,
baby, it’s you
Like pop culture needs something new
baby, it’s you.
Like a cowboy feels his freedom
and a hipster needs his thrills
like New Yorkers need their pace
and a murderer needs his kills
baby, it’s you
Like the middle child needs attention
and Thomas Edison listened for a voice
like an orphan longs to belong
and a business man loves his invoice
baby, it’s you
Kentucky rain needs eyes of blue
baby, it’s you
Like the Earth needs Mars
like a prison warden needs his bars
and the paparazzi need their stars
Like Rapunzel needs her braids
and an impulse shopper needs money today
like a war-weary soldier longs for peace
and a death row Atheist starts to pray,
baby…
Like a songbird drinks morning dew
baby, it’s you.
c. Kathy Zimmer 2007
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GOSPEL BOOK
The wind tousled the waves of grain
and blew sunshine in her hair
I’m gonna grow up to be a star, she said
gotta see what’s going on out there
the breeze whispered like a megaphone
blaring straight into her soul
but it blew from another place, and she just had to know
They said if you rode the highway too far
you’d roll off the edge of the earth
the fear and the mistrust in their eyes was enough
to keep her feet sound pat in the dirt
she was raised in the Promised Land
but the honey’s too sweet and Canaan too old
the looks in their eyes made her bleed from the inside
she was never very brave or very bold
O Lord, rip me from your gospel book
it all turned to a pillar of salt, I had to have a look
you called my name, I answered and was took
the guitar sounded and my hands shook
The quilt on her bed was stitched thread by thread
shut her up good and tight against the cold
the letters they’d get, well they’d just shake their heads
they knew the story and it made them old
How the lamp got lit no match would ever tell
but the flame was there from the start
sparks rose in her eyes and her mind was live wired
and the story burned deep in her heart
O Lord, rip me from your gospel book
it all turned to a pillar of salt, I had to have a look
you called my name, I answered and was took
the guitar sounded and my hands shook
O Lord, rip me from your gospel book
it all turned to a pillar of salt, I had to have a look
you called my name, I answered and was took
my voice trembled and the walls shook
Copyright 2005 Kathy Zimmer
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WINTER
Wind chimes complain loudly
as they collide in the careless breeze
I shoot a disdainful look at a lady on the subway
as her shopping bag bumps my knees
We jostle and elbow and swindle and scramble
in any effort to get ahead
counting your pennies in desperation
will do strange things to your head
Wrap your scarf around tighter as the wind tries to pull it off
build around your heart a suit of armor when you decide you’ve been hurt enough
and you can’t even begin to shed your skin cause it’s now layered 10 feet deep
calluses protect the tender spots, that baby soft skin just doesn’t keep
I have calluses on my fingers from playing my guitar
but I’ll touch each string just the same, I remember where they are
I have calluses on my vocal cords from having to sing the blues
but blue’s the color of the earth from the moon
and baby soft blue suede shoes
Squint your eyes as the train whistle shrieks
but don’t plug your ears out of pride
don’t let on that that sound so bleak of the singing from the street man
makes you curl up and quake deep inside
You need to breathe, breathe, breathe in to make a sound
but the choke hold on your neck makes it hard to find air
and even if you could say what you needed
if no one were listening, would there be anything to hear?
I have calluses on my fingers from playing my guitar
but I’ll touch each string just the same, I remember where they are
I have calluses on my vocal cords from having to sing the blues
but blue’s the color of the earth from the moon
and baby soft blue suede shoes
Copyright 2005 Kathy Zimmer
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HOLY TERROR
I am a fugitive from the law of the Old West
shot a man and held another too close to my breast
I wore my fishnets, they called me a fisher of men
when I left that town I shook the dust from my boots
and walked away as they counted from 10
I was a fearless child lost in a carnival run amiss
put my hand out for some stranger to hold, they’d give it a kiss
walk down 42nd Street, look dealers and prostitutes in the eye
but I bowed out when Disneyland stepped in
to make fool’s gold with some Shanghai surprise
I was a rock and roll rebel
I was a holy terror
send up a war cry at a decibel too high
cut the apron strings and kiss your mother good-bye
I was Joan of Arc in satin pants with my ankles crossed
wondered who these sissy men were, and why didn’t they just get lost
battles to be fought and won, and booty to be called
blaze through legions of men and shave my head
I was on the side of God
I was a rock and roll rebel
I was a holy terror
send up a war cry at a decibel too high
cut the apron strings and kiss your mother good-bye
Don’t you know I swung from the ceiling of the big top
wearing sequins sitting on a trapeze
Don’t you know I didn’t need a net
as I flew through the air with the greatest of ease
All you girls, if you drive your Camaros with the windows down,
down a dirt road going top speed
Then you’re a rock and roll rebel
you’re a holy terror
send up a war cry at a decibel too high
cut the apron strings and kiss your mother good-by
Copyright 2005 Kathy Zimmer
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ST. PATRICK
Spit from the world, bottom of its shoe
can’t find the storm’s eye, can’t find a box to crawl into
wonder where I’m going, what’s to become of little girl blue
my cheek on your curve like a mother’s arm… sing to me like she used to
Sing one sweet note for me so high and so clear
sing and drive out demons like St. Patrick did with beer
I’ll listen like a conch if you’ll trill to the stars
sing me to sleep with my eyelids pure as pearls
sing to me, my guitar
Spit from the world, the mirror smiled and then it cracked
flap your sturdy wings and pray for some air, or take a flying leap and fall flat
I’ll scrape my chalk on the sidewalk for awhile till it screeches like fingernails on a board
pray for some praise till the rain washes the color away… wake up hugging the floor
Sing one sweet note for me, so high and so clear
sing me all the way to China as I stand in America here
take me out to Eden or at least point how far with some satellite Christmas star
sing to me, my guitar
Copyright 2005 Kathy Zimmer
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PERFECT SONG
I'm on a quest to write the perfect song
one that doesn't end too soon or drag on too long
sums up everything I've got to say
and gives you something when you go away
prick your heart like love so right or love gone wrong
honey in your ears, my perfect song.
Do-doo
Three minutes and counting with a melody so fine
shake all the rafters while I whisper like the pines
catch the throb, throb, throb of life
and all the honey of sweet sobbing strife
and just to hear it, people will stand for hours in line
my perfect song, with its melody so fine
and when i find you I'll sing you this song
my song with lovely trills and dissonances gone all wrong
like a siren on the water, you'll be wooed
like a soul man calling to his daughter
my cries of war, frustration, fear and anger will ring in your cars like
sighs, coos and laughter
and in its rhythm, we'll play
and the days will never be long
Do-doo
Like Arab horns calling out to serpents,
we'll be bewitched and in a daze
strains of voodoo hang around like incense in a haze
I want to dance in this song always
and when i find you I'll sing you this song
my song with lovely trills and dissonances gone all wrong
like a siren on the water, you'll be wooed
like a soul man calling to his daughter
my cries of war, frustration, fear and anger will ring in your cars like
sighs, coos and laughter
and in its rhythm, we'll play
and the days will never be long
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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DON'T YOU WANNA
Don't you wanna come make some noise, baby,
you know you make my heart throb
don't you wanna play guitar at my place, baby,
I'll be Joan if you're my Bob
don't you wanna tie one on, light my candle, whet your whistle, strike a
match, dip a wick
you can always come get what you want, baby
I'll be Bianca and you can be Mick
hey hey hey
Don't you wanna come bathe in my tub
I've got bubbles and a real slow drain
don't you wanna get warm with my love
don't need a towel, you'll keep warm just the same
don't you wanna roll around on my rug,
my floor is crooked so we'll just have to lean
can you dig it, man, you're already dug
come take a look like it's never been seen
hey hey hey
Don't you wanna come rock in my chair
we can just groove it and not go anywhere
wind my clock, test the springs, oil the hinges, man,
kick it like we've got time to spare
don't you wanna mic tap, scratch track, playback, overdub it, mix and fix
the masters one more time
rock my microphone, baby, what a nice tone,
click it and we'll keep real good time
hey hey hey
Don't you wanna come cruise in my car
plenty of leg room and six different speeds
turn the heater on, yeah, crank up some fun
minute to 60 but there's really no need
don't you wanna polish all the white walls, chrome, fix the carburetor,
rock it, test the shocks and move the seats
baby, put your head back, fast track, motor running...
let me take the keys
hey hey hey
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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UNDER YOUR SPELL
Like a cat running through the night I step softly in your candlelight
I hear your silence so loud it hurts my ears
I could turn to dust if I would stand here waiting for your answers,
I could be blown away by every pulse I heart
Your pulse pumping in my ears sounds like the trains above my house
a streetcar named Desire; come rest at my feet
won't you carry me away, your lady,
through the dark alleys and the back roads; crazy--
in the back of our carriage, we'll glide up the street
but I wait under your spell
I wait under your spell
under the bloodshot moon, I wait
deep inside my looking glass, I see you
running like a rabbit, the clearness clouds my view
I reach out to touch you, but you slip away
I could be Alice and come chasing after you,
but I'd rather meet up at the mirror, just we two
and fog up the pane--we'd have a lot to say
but I wait under your spell
I wait under your spell
under the bloodshot moon, I wait
in the heat of the day, I wait
in the dark of the night, I wait
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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JOEY (It's All Okay)
Joey stands with guitar in able hands,
the microphone's his friend, the spotlight's in his eyes,
sometimes he croons and sometimes he wails
he gets us to listen like we were all barefoot in his kitchen
he beats and he bops and he stops all of our clocks
feels like our brother, the savior and thunder cause for a moment, he has
all the answers
Susan knows people in her woodwork
who every day come out and bother her at work
so she writes down all their crazy stories
and shares them in an aquarium called the stage
each little member gets their time out in the center,
be it the U. S. President or your local apartment renter
and by the end, we see we're all the same, the same as we can be
Here's three cheers for those truthtellers here
who try to make things better for people far & near
give of themselves and take their hearts down off the shelves
cause they see that it's all easy if you just make it that way
it's all ok
Lorraine's slight of build and vicious in attack
sharp as a tack, she'll always make you take it back
ask her for the future, she'll interpret all your dreams
and make poetry of you while she mends you at the seams
and by the scruff of her neck she's seen the whole world and wept
but she ain't afraid to change the world, hey hey, up she'll step
Here's three cheers for those truthtellers here
who try to make things better for people far & near
give of themselves and take their hearts down off the shelves
cause they see that it's all easy if you just make it that way
it's all ok
Cause they ain't no Britney
and they ain't no Whitney
they're just like you and me
real live humanity
ain't no machinery
talent instead of just sexuality
no corporate buffoonery
they're just like
they're just like
they're like you and me
hip hip hooray
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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IF I COULD
If I could I would always be your first sip of wine
your sweet home Alabama country boy blues
I'd come from behind the screen on a summer's night
in a Mae West kimono
I'd rub your tired shoulders and slip off your shoes
if I could
I'd be your little woman and you could be my sugar daddy
we'd have nights of bottomless black and endless winds
you'd rest with your head in my arms and your thoughts in my head and we'd fall asleep in my bed
and then we'd dream 'till the morning light again
if we could
all those things you wanted, boy, I'd do them if I could
kiss your lips and your chin
mix you up a tonic & gin
soft as a doe-eyed deer
steely as a grey mother wolf
whatever you wanted, boy, whatever it took
I'd be your first cigarette after you quit for a month
your "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" and your "Brown Eyed Girl" too
and somehow I know, deep down inside, in the back of your mind
if you could you'd be all that I wanted, too
if you could
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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TODAY IS NOT THE DAY
Shovel the coal and make it hot
black is the kettle and the pot
clean my hands on my apron, and wipe my forehead dry
smudge a spot on the window, and try to see some sky
hot is the fire but cold is the earth
I cook my cakes for tea and rebirth
simmer all my troubles and boil away these tears
the scent of sweet and bitter come together in all these years
crackle, flicker, spit and pop
the first rises higher but the temperature's dropped
sputter, bubble, flick away this rubble
clean off the knife and wait for more trouble
today is not the day
once I dreamed daydreams and sang songs to the birds
they were melodies of romance without any words
the tasks grow longer as the days begin to thin
I wonder amindst the thunder, will the birds ever be let in?
whistle, cadkle, hiss and moan
dust away the debris in this dugout we call home
fiddle and dance and roll with the punches
straighten up this back before it cracks over and hunches
today is not the day
stoke the smolders and the smoke
stroke the cat, the screen door's broke
mend the pipe and fix the screen
some days we stand up straight and other days we lean
brick a brack back
darn a sock and mend a sack
the night wonders if the wind will ever take it back
brittle the bones, I need to knit some skin so I can keep tight all of my
insides in
but today is not the day
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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LOVE LIGHT
I looped my thread and you tied the knot
I can't get it free, I think it's caught some piece of me
that can't be released
if you wanted, you could let me go, but I'd rather not
I tied my shoes and they tripped me up
while I watched you from a distance over the rim of my teacup
and lapped up some hot romance as the steam swirled and danced
these moments of closeness are all, all too abrupt
so tonight I'll leave my light on in the window for you
I'll leave my love light to draw you in
like a moth to the lamp, but I won't burn you and I won't spurn you
like a mother, I would never hurt you, so come on in
so tonight I'll leave my light on in the window for you
I'll turn the covers down for when you come home
like a loner to his lover, I'll take you in and we'll go under
velvet to the touch, and rolling just like thunder
come on in
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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UNDERSTOOD
Deep inside where that decaying vine grows, swampy and black
is the tried and true notion that you can give it,
but you can't take it back
a searing hot metal from somewhere brands a shame into your brain
and out comes scathing, desperate words that shiver and writhe,
trying to give voice to your pain
I stretch farther to reach you
but your beauty crumblels like ash between my clumsy fingers
I feed your fire like heroine feeds desperate dead rock singers
a moment frozen in ice is to see, but not to touch
and my attempts to warm you only destroy you
under overeager efforts that prove to be too much
and so before I even make the attempt
let me say from the start that I'm no good
as long as that's all out in the open, as long as that's understood
I can't wait to look deep into the clouds of your eyes, and tell you truly
with all sincerity and no surprise that I get it all
but if that moment never seems to come not matter how hard we try
ain't it something to know that though we pulled on the bars
we entertwined our fingers and measured each other at least that far
and so before I even make the attempt
let me say from the start that I'm no good
as long as that's all out in the open, as long as that's understood
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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DREAMS
morning sky burst over from the other side
eager to begin and tremblingly wide-eyed
evening sky is a tamed lion, a meek old cat who stretches his paws
and has no preference where he falls asleep at
the young try it all, stop at nothing
push the limits, and test the borders
the old squint their eyes, test the waters, carry an umbrella,
blow on their soup and follow all the orders
so before the sun crosses the sky
make sure you take the time to ask about dreams
honey-hot butterscotch in thick, white creams
secret hidden heartbeats that break through ribs
and congregate on the streets
they huddle there in the grey till a dry wind comes
and blows them all away
make sure you ask about dreams
shimmering, lovely blue and green planet,
teach me to love before I live another day
cold and forsaken and desolate moon, tell me did you ever think,
did you ever think you'd end up that way?
so before the moon crosses the sky
make sure you take the time to ask about dreams
honey-hot butterscotch in thick, white creams
secret hidden heartbeats that break through ribs
and congregate on the streets
they huddle there in the grey till a dry wind comes
and blows them all away
make sure you ask about dreams
© 2003 Kathy Zimmer
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