NOT ALLOWED

I wasn't all I was cracked up to be,
You made that very clear,
Perhaps it was simply boredom,
That ignited all your fears

There was never balance between us,
Despite the hoodoo and the spells,
We lost our equilibrium,
As did Orson Welles

And I can't lean upon a rainbow,
I can't swim amongst the clouds,
I can't hold a ghost close to me,
And I can't give what's not allowed

So I gaze upon an open door,
That frames the rain outside,
Cherishing words you called the truth,
While ignoring snide asides

The void I feel might be the wind,
And there's one last glimpse of you,
The lightening captures a silhouette,
Then you disappear from view

And I can't lean upon a rainbow,
I can't swim amongst the clouds,
I can't hold a ghost close to me,
And I can't give what's not allowed


COPYRIGHT; EGHARNE

MAN CHILD

An inflatable pool in my back yard,
Beckons silently to me,
Bugs that have drowned float face up,
Where my dog has secretly peed

I lie in the sun with rolls of fat,
And sweat streams down my neck,
My girlfriend's thong looks mighty tight,
As she inhales a crepe suzette

And I used to have ambition,
When America was free,
Before Man Child's proclamations,
Took everything from me

He absconded with my money,
He smothered my self-respect,
He took us down this black hole,
Then blamed it on Glenn Beck

Now me and my girl Bertha,
Watch as our futures wane,
'cause Man Child's god like powers,
Made us all the same


Copyright; EGHarne

DELUSION'S ILLUSION

Sarah peers out a window,
At a man she's never met,
She's counting on the raindrops,
But they haven't started yet

And the voices in the closet,
Are from children never born,
And the hair she twirls nervously,
Are locks that have been shorn

And the schooner that awaits her,
On a distant, ghostly shore,
Will take her from a husband,
Who doesn't want her anymore

She smiles so very brightly,
Through the numbing phantom pain,
From a non-existent bullet,
Lodged tightly in her brain

Copyright; EGHarne

I SHOULD WIN A NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE FOR THIS POEM

Nothing.

DEBBIE FIELDS

I met you there in Herndon,
At the elementary school,
I guess I should’ve have known it,
Debbie, I was such a fool

I thought you might’ve liked me,
But I was so sedate,
I wasn’t quite so confident,
Way back in ‘68

You and your friend Gayla,
Would sometimes laugh at me,
But your eyes whispered kindness,
Or so it seemed, you see

But time it passes quickly,
And the devil wants to deal,
What was, never will be,
And these ghosts won’t let me heal

I moved away from Herndon,
To a smaller, southern town
Surrounded by the mountains,
And captured by the sounds

I spent the years growing,
Beneath the valley’s pines,
No one knew it, Debbie,
You were always on my mind,

There came an understanding,
What longing often yields,
The fertile hopes of youth,
Took root in Debbie’s fields

But time it passes quickly,
And the devil wants to deal,
What was, never will be,
And these ghosts won’t let me heal

I returned to Herndon,
When I was seventeen,
Walked into a fast food joint,
After “Freebie and the Bean”

And there behind the counter,
Now my age and care free,
I saw you smiling, Debbie
And then you looked at me

And there was recognition,
Of this boy that you once knew,
I would’ve given anything,
Just to talk to you

But business is business,
You can never have a line,
And just like back in ’68,
I left yet one more time

And time it passes quickly,
And the devil wants to deal,
What was, never will be,
And these ghosts won’t let me heal

Decades come and go,
And I’m reminded of my youth,
We re-write our histories,
To avoid the somber truths

And while I miss you still
As strange as that may seem,
It’s not really an obsession,
More a hopeful dream

So I hide these wistful feelings,
As I’m sure most others do,
Why do they still haunt us?
These memories bleeding through

And time it passes quickly,
And the devil wants to deal,
What was, never will be,
And these ghosts won’t let me heal


Copyright; EGHarne

I STILL CAN'T SAY GOODBYE (21ST CENTURY LYRICS W/ APOLOGIES TO CHET ATKINS)

When I was young, I would say,
"Dad, why do you act so fey?"
He'd slap my face and then,
Sashay...away

We'd go the the gas station,
He'd say, "Fill 'er up!"
While fondling his "D" cups,
Made me just wanna throw up

Don't want to be like him...

No matter how hard I try,
No matter how many tears I cry,
No matter how many years go by,
I still have to ask myself, "Why?"

I'd play sports,
Mom and Dad came to the games,
They would both be dressed the same,
Nearly drove me insane

Brought my date home,
From the prom,
There was Dad with pasties on!
Please tell me what the hell went wrong?

Don't want to be like him...

Wind blows through the trees,
Streetlights, they still shine bright,
Most Dads are the same,
But I knew mine wasn't quite right

Walked by a Salvation Army store,
Saw a dress that my Daddy wore,
I tried it on...
Fixed the hem...
My God! I'm just like him!!

No matter how hard I try,
No matter how many years go by,
No matter how many tears I cry,
Nylons chafe my thighs!


Copyright; EGHarne

NONSENSE

You can carry a suitcase,
But never a tune,
You can Leave It To Beaver,
But never to June

You can bask in the glory,
But burn in the sun,
You can toss all your cookies,
But still get the runs

You can bury the hatchet,
But still feel the pain,
You can make up excuses,
But never explain

You can take things for granted,
But mistake them for stone,
You can sell just the sizzle,
But always get boned

Copyright; EGHarne