UNREQUITED

When you love someone,
But she don't feel the same,
You can't catch your breath,
You can't dull the pain

And when you see her smile,
But at someone else,
It turns you inside out,
You can't feel yourself,

And when she walks away,
Moving hand in hand,
Leaving your love behind,
For another man

And as you stand alone,
Nothing's bittersweet,
No one sees you there,
Drowning in your grief

Copyright; EGHarne

BARRY'S THOUGHTS AT THE GRAVESIDE OF HIS RECENTLY DECEASED WIFE

I'm glad it's you and not me darlin'!
I can't stop myself from sreamin' and hollerin'!
Pretty soon you'll be nuthin' but a box full o' bones,
And me, I'll be tap dancin' on all these headstones!

Copyright; EGHarne

FEVER DREAM

It took me awhile to realize,
Where I was going to and where I had been,
I can't say that it was a noble quest,
Because I left you behind,
When the friendship wore thin

Somewhere out on that highway's an end,
Of a journey that's lasted far too long,
The winners ain't braver,
The women ain't beauties,
And the race don't always go the strong

Beg, borrow and steal a lifetime,
Of broken promises and poison darts,
I can lie to the people,
I can lie to you baby,
I can lie here all night and wait for the sparks

But you know and I know flames don't rekindle,
When wooden hearts darken with falling tears,
'Cause I ain't a beggar,
And I ain't a pleader,
Still I wish these nurses would acknowledge my fears

Copyright; EGHarne

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

I've done a lot of bad things,
And I've hurt so many people,
In my neverending quest for number one,
But of all the mistakes I've made,
You're not one, my son,
Of all the mistakes I've made, you're not one


Copyright; EGHarne

HER PLAINTIVE PLEA TO A JACKASS

Lie to me,
I don't want to hear those words again,
Don't want to see,
And though I understand your feelings well,
Please don't leave,
Don't go,
'cause you know I love you so


Copyright; EGHarne

SAIL AWAY

We were married, whole and happy,
And looked forward to our lives,
But sometimes some things happen,
And we never find out why

So we continued forever altered,
We did our best to understand,
Why you were taken from us,
And delivered to His hands

And I try to sail so far away,
From the mists that cloud my mind,
But your face follows closely,
It’s with me all the time

Our conversations trail off,
And our eyes rarely meet,
The touches so restrained,
And the kisses not so sweet

The holidays, they’re quiet,
Our meals we eat alone,
The empty place at the table,
Echoes the silence in our home

And I try to sail so far away,
To a distant, welcome shore,
Where I can finally breathe again,
And my soul has been restored

We both lost ourselves,
And then we lost each other,
And the map to bring us back,
Simply makes us shudder

And the school bus that passes us,
Is the one you used to ride,
Your friends continue, older,
And we break down and cry

And I try to sail so far away,
To waters warm and still,
I pray we both get over this,
But I know we never will

Copyright; EGHarne

MYSTERY

The years had passed me by,
They'd beaten up my heart,
They'd held my life at bay,
And the time it had been marked

And I thought that it was over,
I believed that to be true,
But then I turned a corner,
And life began anew

Some say that it was love,
But it's something that I hide,
For what was given to me,
Words cannot describe


Copyright; EGHarne

SAMMY GREEN

He was a public crap house poet,
He kept those toilets keen,
A fixture in the 70's,
The legend, Sammy Green

We passed him when we entered,
We passed him as we left,
Sammy's words they touched us,
Of those we weren't bereft

"Be like Dad," he'd tell us,
"But never be like Sis,
Make sure you lift the lid,
Before you take a piss!"

Yes, I remember Sammy,
He never told a lie,
His revealing revelations,
Still leave me dewy eyed

And he made an honest living,
Scraping smega off the floor,
And as we parted company,
The last thing he'd implore:

"If the crappers they was spotless,
And your asses remained clean,
Then leave a freakin' tip,
For your host, Sammy Green!


Coyright; EGHARNE

OBSERVATIONS OF A BEATEN MAN

Love, it seems to hide from me,
It seems to lie to me,
The older I get...
It takes, but it never gives back,
It hurts, but it's always like that

Life, it seems to laugh at me,
It seems to crap on me,
The older I get...
It takes, but it never gives back,
It hurts, but it's always like that

Time, it seems follow to me,
It seems to swallow me,
The older I get...
It takes, but it never give back,
It hurts, but it's always like that
Always like that...


Copyright; EGHARNE

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

HOMELY HERBIE

Herbie was a homely boy,
He made his classmates scream,
For poor, poor little Herbie,
Every day was Halloween

His parents wouldn't touch him,
He scared his sister Ruth,
He'd sneak up on the mirror,
Just to brush his tooth

He avoided public places,
He'd often felt the sting,
Of people's frightened faces,
And projectile vomiting

But Herbie had a secret,
That gave him hours of fun,
Herbie had three penises
Instead of only one

Copyright; EGHarne

NOTHING LEFT TO SAY

Well, the sunset falls upon me,
And the clouds slowly fade away,
And I wonder how I got here,
Is there nothing left to say?

I started strong and knowing,
With a future very bright,
But now I wait and wonder,
Seems I’m closer to the night

Yes, there are those who love me,
Who shared with me their trust,
But I didn’t trust enough to tell,
What was inside turned to dust

There was a plan I followed,
A path that I was shown,
And regrets they overtake me,
For the plan was not my own

So I light a single candle,
To illuminate my life,
But seeing things more clearly,
Doesn’t set them right

For I’ve lived another’s destiny,
And fate has made me pay,
My dreams have died slowly inside,
And there’s nothing left to say

Copyright; EGHarne

SQUARE ONE

I see a wide expanse of water,
Reflecting the evening sky,
The North Star holds a fascination,
But I no longer wonder why

I stand here near the shoreline,
Waiting on the return,
For any kind of feeling,
I had before I was burned

My heart floats so far,
So very far,
Out to sea...
She can take it,
Break it,
And wash it back to me...

What remains I'll leave behind,
Beating in the foam,
From this day hence I swear to God,
I'll face this world alone

Copyright; EGHarne

THE MESSENGER

There are times when I look down from the mountain of my past,
And cast my gaze over roads that I had taken,
I worry and I wonder if my course was always true,
Were there routes I used I should have forsaken?

And I call out my questions to the valley below,
The echos returning with no answers,
My fortunes have faded with the shadows of the sunset,
Like the failing legs of a time ravaged dancer,

But as I stand upon the precipice where the future meets the past,
And outcast in a world that shows no mercy,
An avalanche of silence stops my forage down the slopes,
I'm afraid that if I speak no one will hear me

Copyright; EGHarne

SCARS

The speed don't change the mileage,
The wax don't change the car,
We've been wounded on the inside,
But on the outside we don't show the scars

The scars...


Copyright; EGHarne

FOREVER AND A DAY

She dances on the coast,
And awaits the arrival of the Heavenly Host,
And she wonders where they will go,
But what if He doesn't show?

Then dance with me,
Across the sea,
And we'll be together,
Forever,
And a day

Windswept souls do survive,
But with you I'm so alive,
So take my hand and we'll see,
An island created from you and me

Then dance with me,
Across the sea,
And we'll be together,
Forever,
And a day

And as the years glide swiftly by,
Crinkled, wrinkles surround our eyes,
And as we crumble in our respective parts,
Time erodes our bodies but not our hearts

Then dance with me,
Across the sea,
And we'll be together,
Forever,
And a day

Copyright; EGHarne