Lizzie Skyward

 

 

Little Lizzie, barely four
and rarely lucky, gained
the light switch from the hardwood floor
when twenty digits strained.

 

With concentration aided by
abundant grunts, she blustered
and flicked it toward the roofed-in sky
when every muscle mustered.

 

Flushed with triumph, Lizzie burst
into Pa's atelier
to appropriate he who durst
not spurn a protegee.

 

Charmed by Lizzie's wide-eyed verve,
Seduced by her, "Come see!",
He pushed aside art to observe
his tiny devotee;

 

And with parental sapience
(not only to avoid
any guilt-trips decades hence),
he seized his Polaroid:

 


She stretches on petite feet. Her
toes align her lips.
The switch one millimeter
lies beyond her fingertips . . .

Here we hear the camera click:
Just fractions shy. We doff
our hats to sky-reachers who flick
it on but can't flick off.

 

### – jb–###

 

 

 

 

Wake Alone  

Arranged and performed by Bart Topher

Lyrics and melody by JB

Lyrics:

We know the moon is waning
We’ve got stars blink-blinking in the sky
Well now I ain’t complaining
But I just can’t understand why
I get his eerie feeling
In every weary bone
I don’t like to cheat
But I feel incomplete
When I wake up alone

One day a well-kept lady
With a diamond-splattered soul
Drove me to Hades
And taught me lack of self-control
She trained me like a puppy
and chewed me like a bone
I’d play at her feet
and she’d feed me a treat
but she would not wake alone

[distant repeat]


Break
I guess is ain’t surprisin’
My company is they type
One wants til the horizon
is slowly ushered in with light
But I ain’t one who wants anything more than fun
Don’t grumble, grouse, joust, or gripe
Coz all I ever share is the night
All I ever share is the night

 

Now I’m with Janey
Oh and her doe-like dewy eyes
A suitable trainee
under a diamond-splattered skies
I got a fulsome woman
who can’t reach me on the phone
I don’t like to cheat
But I feel incomplete
Said I don’t like to cheat but I do feel incomplete
When I wake up alone

When I wake up alone . . . [fade]