page 1: "I managed a tour of the country"
page 3: "You're somewhere in the night"
page 4: "I can pack a bag for survival in 60 seconds"
I managed a tour of the country
On beauty and brains and
Paid my rent in paint and physical contact
Less a whore in name and flesh, alone
the moment I said it it became as true
as it's always been
I don't listen for the music
I just like the company
just need a friend
So I don't want to talk
about bands
I'll wander around, latch onto another and when
he lets go
it's each and every, it's true
always there
there, there, and there
and the road, and another day
You know what I'm trying
I know what can't have
it's not what i'm trying to say.
Fantastic
Let's go, strap it on
I know the way
You've got a headlamp
I'm working again
Turn left at the alley
Shake
The neighbours are all dead
Your hands all over
I'm standing in the middle of it with my camera
Who's that with the camera?
I'm not just my name, I'm just my name
I aim with good humour
All three of us in this dark
How's your job?
We pull our toques down a little more
and keep going
I know the way
You're the dork with the headlamp
"Wherever the cops are tonight, it's not here."
I nod
We take tiny steps through the magic in the grime.
You're somewhere in the night,
A clan and you, moving with ease
A fake jump in your step you believe
As you flirt with the people who enjoy
Not knowing you
That you merely impress them
Climbing lampposts, getting dirty
Using wild slang as though it were your native tongue
I am out with my dangerous people, too
Equally out of place
As the night goes on I look for you in the street
Every troublesome youth a quickening of my heartbeat
How will I prove for once and for all
That I need nothing?
If each of these friends are in the same state as we
Then the joke is as long and as hard as the ground we walk on.
I can pack a bag for survival in 60 seconds
Have my hair just right for the road in 10
And I can be out the door and on the street
By the time you pull up
Not that you will.
Alone I pull whatever in
To my neck
And the city hums cars and stolen shopping carts
As girls without problems pass by like dreams on the nights
When I'm warm, fat, and safe
A red jacket on a bicycle
A camera
You know everything, don't you,
buddy,
The contents of these pages,
The frustration of another day's meager wins
That if you come too close
I already know which part of the fence I'd jump
Which backyards I'd crouch in
You know the hardened fear in my stomach
Or you'd better,
disturbing my quiet for your
art
Tomorrow I'll steal a toothbrush and a pair of shoes
What am I saying
You know that too.