Listen to chirping, the shrieking of green trees, first
Softly then loudly from corner to corner, then
Bouncing from sidewalks to buildings and billboards that
Glow from the hum of pink neon vibrations, this
City smells hot from the rot of decay from the
Vegetables lying in alleys that twist from my
Sight to the shadows that hang by the hinges of
Night's humid cloak draped over this fading sad
Laughter, for these are the last days of my time in
Shanghai, the Land that gave birth to the yearning to
Swallow all life has to offer, the chirping, the
Shrieking of green trees, the chirping, the shrieking
Encapsulate this, transcribed
Make it plain so that memory
may embellish upon it
later on
Glorify or villify
To whatever suites your purpose
later on
But right now - for right now
Let it hit you
Wave after wave
Let the tide suck you out
and lose you from the shore
Be stranded
Lay afloat in a sea of darkness
And calm your heart
Something will come of this
Then
Start swimming
Swim any which way you want
Your wake
will tell you where you are going
Under my skin like the head of tick
Who's plump body I sent flying
With a flick of my finger
But your head's still there
Burrowing for my heart
The biggest prize of all
It's just food for you, though
Not love - I'm to be your meal
But I'll pretend it's love
And let you chew through
All the dark layers of
Subcutaneous sorrow
I'll pretend it's love and
Skip from cloud to cloud
While your stupid tick head
Bounces around inside my heart
Constantly drinking to fill a body
That I swear I flicked away 
Places change over time,
Mine in your absence or,
More, even while you peeked
Meek after this long break
Stake to come back to visit
Pivot - these walls have moved
Moved, restructure proved
Grooves in the chamber have shifted
Lifting all that ached,
Take from life what reeked,
Leaking phoenix pores
Store nothing in these faces
We used to go through three packs a day,
Marlboro Reds we bought from
Change we'd find behind stained
And dusty couch cushions,
We'd hike it back from the Mobil
Up the stairs to our cave
Cut into a mid-century apartment building,
Plug in the Fender jazz bass,
Turn on the Peavey amp,
Throw in Lou and Bowie, Kurt and Frank,
Re-string the black Strat,
Tune forever while everyone else
Just kept on fucking around,
Smoke, smoke, smoke,
Bakesale, check out Bakesale,
No, you gotta check out the album before that,
Yeah, I'd totally fuck Kim Deal,
She's nothing without Black, though,
Do you even know what you're saying,
Puff, puff, puff, cough, laugh,
Fuck you, man, turn it up,
We were drifters, no-namers, addicts,
Kids trying on different masks,
Reinventing or hiding or both,
Talking like experts about books we never read
And quoting somebody's cool big brother,
Laughing at words like "alternative" and "grunge"
While wearing flannel with our Cons,
Trying to win the game of not giving a shit
While totally giving a shit,
Unaware that we were dreaming the whole time,
And completely oblivious to the self-loathing
Gaining on us like the feedback we loved so much
Erode, erode, with sands of time unfold,
Make strange this love with sediments washed down
From weathered peaks once high, once proudly bold,
This mountain dies to lose its lover's crown
Let glaciers carve, let rivers cut, let rain
Strike down each heartfelt grain, let wind transport
Each piece to rest and dress this valley's stain,
Blood-iron red, amid this earthly court
Transform this world, beat down this sacred land,
Destroy what form held semblance in your mind
Of the majestic mountain that did stand
And fix your gaze upon the sun to blind
Your eyes so that you never need to see
This lonely hill and its estranged debris
Today
in another universe
right next to this one
there's a guy
just like me
and he's getting dressed
in his tuxedo
surrounded by his friends
all his best men
and he's nervous with excitement
There's a girl like you there, too
and she's putting on her
wedding dress
the one she concealed from him
for so long
the one he was dying to see her in
In a few hours from now
they'll meet in a garden
and he'll finally get to see her
in that dress
and his heart will swellToday,in another universe
He'll say, "I do"
and she the same 
