Circle of Titles 2022

[JonPorobil]

Hey folks! I was about a month behind schedule with the big reveal and whatnot, but it's all out there now! Sorry for the delay. Now that it's all public, post your lyrics here!

Yes, Dmitri
by Jon Porobil
(title submitted by mholland/Night Sky)

Dear Dmitri, I saw your concert last night
I shouted myself hoarse
I find I feel ashamed of my own songs
After listening to yours

So if you read this letter,
I hope you’ll offer some advice
Oh Dmitri
Show me the world through your eyes

Dear Dmitri, Thank you for the feedback
I’ve been giving it some thought
I admire your facility with structure
But formal I am not

So if you hear my song,
Don’t be offended that I didn’t change a thing
See, Dmitri,
Sometimes you need to turn it off and sing

La la la la la la la la
La la la la
Yes, Dmitri
I’m learning when to shut up and sing

Dmitri, I read your piece on Substack
[sigh]
It’s a shame you got brigaded
But do you think they had a point?

So if you miss my fan mail
You should know how much I loved my time under your wing
Oh, Dmitri
Sometimes you need to turn it off and sing

La la la la la la la la
La la la la
Yes, Dmitri
I owed you so much, but now I’ve repaid everything
Yes, Dmitri
I think it’s time to shut up and sing

[JonPorobil]

Aging Novelties
by Jon Porobil
(title submitted by mholland/Night Sky)

In time
The river swept away the heavies
In time
The water ate into the rock
One blink
One hundred fifty years gone by
And the boat
Has sunk
In the dock

In time
Your children learn how to surprise you
In time
That verdant wilderness goes tame
You come to
In your arms, an infant grandchild
And you can’t
Recall
Anyone’s name

Aging novelties will never hit the same again
The fireplace, the patterns on the ceiling
Aging novelties will never hit the same again
No matter what you do to keep that feeling

In time
Magnetic poles are realigning
In time…

One blink
One hundred thousand years gone by
And the sun
Falls
From the sky

And the sun
Falls
From the sky

The sun

[lichenthroat]

Neither Here Nor There
Lichen Throat

On the road at seven o’clock,
Blacktop under my tires.
Dull red sunset on my right,
From the Sierra fires.
Straight down old 395,
East on 58.
Roll through Barstow in the dark,
Then 40 the rest of the way.
I’m already gone, I’ve got hours until I park.
I’m neither here nor there, traveling through the dark.

Stop at Kingman for some fuel,
A bright oasis in the night.
Little puddles from evening storms
Reflect in my headlights.
Halfway up the grade to Williams,
The air begins to cool.
Fat drops of rain start to fall,
Like gravel on a metal roof.
I’m already gone, I’ve got hours until I park.
I’m neither here nor there, traveling through the dark.

Stop again in Flagstaff,
Eat Pringles out of the can.
I know I’m about halfway,
But an hour behind my plan.

By the power plant near Holbrook,
There’s a faint light in the east.
Breakfast at the continental divide:
Limp bacon drenched in grease.
Past the sandstone mesa cliffs
Of western New Mexico,
Then from the top of Nine Mile Hill
Albuquerque spreads below.
I’m already gone, but soon it’s time to park.
I’m neither here nor there; I’ve passed through the dark.

[sleepysilverdoor]

Patch of Blue
Phlub

You're my rhododendron, you're my azalea
Gotta keep your head straight, no derailing you
Get a new ride cause your old one's failing you
All the junk mail that your peeps keep mailing you
Put it in a box, quit stealing all my socks
13 years living in west Knox
Old Reeboks, superfund detox
Make my power surge, you reset my clocks
Agua fresca, drop of hibiscus
Aerodynamic just like a discus
Liquid tension makes a meniscus
Needing that dough like I'm making them biscuits
You're my dicot, you're my daisy
Asked the 8 ball, got "reply hazy"
Dance of the sugar plum drives me crazy
Your botany is so amazing

In my cyclone, you're a patch of blue
You're my sweet pea, you're my honeydew
Getting ready for the rendezvous
Girl, imagine what we could do

Pulling petals from the flowers
In hopes that something's coming through
Staring at the sun for hours
Won't you do it with me too?

Gazing at the stipple on the ceiling
Get in my head, show you how I'm feeling
Y'all don't even know what it is I'm dealing
Made a pot of tea, sipping on Darjeeling
Blow up your head to reduce the pressure
New perspective, M.C. Escher
Growing it closer makes in fresher
Sweat tea is such a pleasure
We all watch it go and go until it pops
Everybody waiting for the other shoe to drop
Yelling through a megaphone upon a mountaintop
Some say it is a banger, some say it is a bop
Get into the helicopter, wop wop wop
Clearing brush with a machete like chop chop chop
At my Toys R Us I got that cannabis
Put it up, pack it up boys, cleaning up shop

In my cyclone you're a patch of blue
You're my sweetpea, you're my honeydew
Getting ready for the rendezvous
Girl, imagine what we could do

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Comptroller
Pigfarmer Jr

Democrats like to spend, spend spend
Republicans like to do it, too
Who they give it to will just depend
On how they're gonna screw me and you

A good comptroller
A good comptroller
A good comptroller
Will help us end the insanity

Reelection is the number one goal
Everything else is number two
To get reelected they will sell our soul
The people they serve will always lose.

A good comptroller
A good comptroller
A good comptroller
Will help us end the insanity
Will help us end the insanity

A good comptroller
A good comptroller
A good comptroller
Will help us end the insanity
Will help us end the insanity
Will help us end the insanity

[mholland]

Dark Tourist
Night Sky

You stood at my door like an accident
Smelling strong of weed and peppermint, oh baby
You wore those old school Five Oh Ones
A little hat to shade your eyes
As you cried and told me lies

Of course, I let you in
It’s you again the dark tourist
Here to see me at your worst

You drank my beer and kept my children up
I dropped pennies in your beggar’s cup, though I loved you so
My heart burned with grief and sympathy
As I waited for you to leave
We both knew you’d go

Of course, I let you go
It’s you again the dark tourist
Here to see me at your worst

I wish I had asked you
A question or two
Like do you like to dance?
Is this a good day for you?

It’s too late now to be curious
You are gone and I am furious, this time with myself
I thought you showed to me your deepest pain
Now I see to my eternal shame
You came when you could

Of course you came when you could
Why the hell was I not the tourist?
Come to hold you at your worst

[Niveous]

"DEET (Bloodsucker)"
Lucky Witch and the Righteous Ghost

Your cologne, a stranglehold
Invader in my comfort zone
You gently crack my confidence
To leave me vulnerable
Swear you won't do me harm
Drag me under with your charm
Casually persistent
You're gauging my resistance

I'm like sugar on your tongue
You want underneath my skin
But I won't let you in
Bloodsucker

You keep buzzing around me
Faking interest in my interests
I feel you touching me
Trying to break my defenses
Tell me that I'm special
Separate me from the pack
Whisper lies in my ears
While you plan the next attack

I'm like sugar on your tongue
You want underneath my skin
But I won't let you in
Bloodsucker

[WreckdoMelle]

Green Time - Brown Word and the Big Whine

Green Time
It's a growing state of mind
Green time
Arrives precisely when it does
For a drought of heart and soul
Let the heavens open up and pour
And let green time commence

An endless trudge of brilliance and dust
The sky was an oven
Dry as the eye of the sun above
When the swelling clouds converged

I think you feel it
I think you know
That our hearts are pulled back to earth
Like a river flowing from its source
Green time when there is time

I think you feel it
I think you know
That our hearts are pulled back to earth
This stone whizzing through the universe
Green time while there is time

From the garden to the wall
From the greenhouse to the gulf
From the fire in the west
To the waters to the rest
Butterflies in the jungles of time