There are some stories I can’t tell.
You are too old for fairytales.
You are too old for carousels.
There are some stories I can’t tell.
You father said he wished you well.
He said the card is in the mail.
There are some stories I can’t tell.
You are too old for fairytales.

It’s hard pretending not to care.
Your smile is worn on mannequins.
I’m sure I saw one wear your hair.
It’s hard pretending not to care
That you are standing, silent, there
And separation is glass thin.
It’s hard pretending not to care.
You smile is worn on mannequins.

You didn’t hear me when
I said I loved you. Once
I mentioned it again.
You didn’t hear me. When
You laughed I knew right then
I had to change my stance.
You didn’t hear me when
I said, I loved you once.

The bees attack an orchid bloom,
The hornets laugh and then they glower
And then they start mixing bee tombs.
The bees attack an orchid bloom
But merely buzz their foolish doom,
The hive descends on purple flowers.
The bees attack an orchid bloom,
The hornets laugh and then they glower

I take your dead heart up a tree
Away from jackals and hyenas,
Away from other leopard’s jealousy.
I take your dead heart up a tree.
My stomach double-flips with glee.
The dried blood forms a sweet patina.
I take your dead heart up a tree,
Away from jackals and hyenas.


Bo peep has lost her sheep again.
What will her father say this time.
Perhaps, "you silly girl," and then,
"Bo peep has lost her sheep again."
The wolf cooks lambs in his dark den
With lemon, butter, sprigs of thyme.
Bo peep has lost her sheep again.
What will her father say this time.

I promise you will have them back.
O Jack give me you magic beans
Or I will place you in a sack
I promise you will have them back
And just in time before the lack
Of narrative becomes obscene.
I promise you will have them back.
O Jack give me your magic beans.


Humpty Dumpty please don’t cry.
These words won’t break you like the ground.
Stay here with me my son, oh my
Humpty Dumpty—please don’t cry.
But mother, mother, oh the sky
Keeps calling and I love the sound.
Humpty Dumpty please don’t cry.
These words won’t break you like the ground.

so like a transposed melody
nobody knows your secret smile
the one you only use for me
so like a transposed melody
that shifts me to a brighter key
the same but different for a while
so like a transposed melody
nobody knows your secret smile

I’m singing in my sleep your name.
I wake to sing you through the day.
My girl’s upset and you’re to blame.
I’m singing in my sleep your name.
She said, "extinguish your old flame."
I said, "she's here to light my way."
I’m singing in my sleep your name.
I wake to sing you through the day.

The repetition’s quite cathartic
The demons exit through my ear
And enter pigs. A prophylactic,
The repetition’s quite cathartic.
My heart was like a beating arctic
But what is that I see—a tear?
The repetition’s quite cathartic.
The demons exit through my ear.