PATTI SMITH – Maria

At the edge of the world
Where you were no one
Yet you were the girl the only one

At the edge of the world in the desert heat
One shivering star, sweet, indiscreet

I knew you when we were young
I knew you when we were young
Now you’re gone

In a little narcissus pool, drowned by a spell
We saw ourselves, raw, excitable

I knew you when we were young
I knew you when we were young
Now you’re gone

We didn’t know
the precariousness
of our young powers
All the emptiness

Wild wild hair, such sad eyes
White shirt black tie you were mine

You grabbed the ring of the carousel
Time going from heaven to hell

I knew you

PATTI SMITH – Space Monkey

Blood on the T.V., ten o’clock news.
Souls are invaded, heart in a groove.
Beatin’ and beatin’ so outta time.
What’s the mad matter with the church chimes?
Here comes a stranger up on Ninth Avenue.
Leanin’ green tower, indiscreet view.
Over the cloud, over the bridge,
sensitive muscle, sensitive ridge of my
space monkey. Sign of the time-time
Space monkey, so outta line-line.
Space monkey, sort of divine.
And he’s mine, mine, all mine.

Pierre Clementi, snot full o’ cocaine.
The sexual streets, why it’s all so insane.
Humans are running, lavender room.
Hoverin’ liquid, move over moon for my
space monkey. Sign of the time-time
Space monkey, sort of divine-vine
Space monkey, so out of line and he’s mine, mine, oh he’s mine

[Spoken]
A stranger comes up to him; hands him an old, rusty Polaroid.
It starts crumbling in his hands.
He says, “Oh man, I don’t get the picture. This is no picture.
This is just…this just-a…this just-a…
This is my jack-knife. This is my jack-knife.
This is my jack-knife. This is my jack.” (shriek)

Rude excavation, landin’ site.
Boy hesitatin’, jack-knife.
He rips his leg open, so out of time.
Blood and light runnin’. It’s all like a dream.
Light of my life, he’s dressed in flame.
It’s all so predestined. It’s all such a game for my
space monkey. Sign of the time-time.
Space monkey, sort of divine-vine.
Space monkey, so out of line and it’s all just space, just space.

There he is, up in a tree.
Oh, I hear him callin’ down to me.
That banana-shaped object ain’t no banana.
It’s a bright, yellow U.F.O.
And he’s coming to get me. Here I go.
Up, up, up, up, up, up, up ,up, up …
Oh, goodbye mama. I’ll never do dishes again.
Here I go from my body.
Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Help!

PATTI SMITH – Helpless

There is a town in north Ontario,
With dream comfort memory to spare,
And in my mind
I still need a place to go,
All my changes were there.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless
Baby can you hear me now?
The chains are locked
and tied across the door,
Baby, sing with me somehow.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless.

PATTI SMITH – Going Under

Sun is rising on the water
Light is dancing again
Let’s go under where the sun beams
Let’s go under my friend

Are we sleeping
Are we dreaming
Are we dancing again
Is it heaven
Crack it open
and we’ll slide down
its stream

We can hold on (I’m sure)
To the sea’s foaming mane
It will serve us
We’ll surface
and we’ll plunge back again

Sun is rising on the water
Light is dancing like a flame
There’s no burning where the sun beams
Oh it’s such a lovely game

Does the sea dream (I’m sure)
We are here, we attend
We are bells on the shore
where the tolling suspends

Who will decide the shape of things
The shift of being
Who will perceive
When life is new
Shall we divide and become another
Who is due for gift upon gift
Who will decide
Shall we swim over and over
The curve of a wing
Its destination ever changing

Sun is rising on the water
Light is dancing like a flame
Let’s go waltzing on the water
Let’s go under again

Let’s go under
Going under

PATTI SMITH – Gloria

Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine
Meltin’ in a pot of thieves
Wild card up my sleeve
Thick heart of stone
My sins my own
They belong to me, me

People say “beware!”
But I don’t care
The words are just
Rules and regulations to me, me

I-I walk in a room, you know I look so proud
I’m movin’ in this here atmosphere, well, anything’s allowed
And I go to this here party and I just get bored
Until I look out the window, see a sweet young thing
Humpin’ on the parking meter, leanin’ on the parking meter
Oh, she looks so good, oh, she looks so fine
And I got this crazy feeling and then I’m gonna ah-ah make her mine
Ooh I’ll put my spell on her

Here she comes
Walkin’ down the street
Here she comes
Comin’ through my door
Here she comes
Crawlin’ up my stair
Here she comes
Waltzin’ through the hall
In a pretty red dress
And oh, she looks so good, oh, she looks so fine
And I got this crazy feeling that I’m gonna ah-ah make her mine

And then I hear this knockin’ on my door
Hear this knockin’ on my door
And I look up into the big tower clock
And say, “oh my God here’s midnight!”
And my baby is walkin’ through the door
Leanin’ on my couch she whispers to me and I take the big plunge
And oh, she was so good and oh, she was so fine
And I’m gonna tell the world that I just ah-ah made her mine

And I said darling, tell me your name, she told me her name
She whispered to me, she told me her name
And her name is, and her name is, and her name is, and her name is G-L-O-R-I-A
G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria
G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria

I was at the stadium
There were twenty thousand girls called their names out to me
Marie and Ruth but to tell you the truth
I didn’t hear them I didn’t see
I let my eyes rise to the big tower clock
And I heard those bells chimin’ in my heart
Going ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong.
Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong
Counting the time, then you came to my room
And you whispered to me and we took the big plunge
And oh. you were so good, oh, you were so fine
And I gotta tell the world that I make her mine make her mine
Make her mine make her mine make her mine make her mine

G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria,
G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria

And the tower bells chime, “ding dong” they chime
They’re singing, “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.”

Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A,
Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A, G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria
G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria,
G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria,
G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria G-L-O-R-I-A Gloria.

PATTI SMITH – Gimme Shelter

Oh, a storm is threat’ning
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin’
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost your way
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
The floods is threat’ning
My very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter
Or I’m gonna fade away
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
I tell you love, sister, it’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
Kiss away, kiss away

PATTI SMITH – Fuji-San

Oh, mountain of our eyes, what do you see?
The girl with the omen dice, bowing to thee
Mortal soldiers clear the path, shake the omen tree
Oh, mountain of our eyes, oh plea
Oh, hear our plea

See the five fingers laid, like a hand in blue
In sideways of the pure
Together glimpse of you, together glimpse of you
The great lake, the white shoot
Your white mind, mind
Whoa, mountain of mine
Whoa, Fuji-san, for a planning
Into the blue, into the great mist
Into the bright, into your light

Oh, mountain of our eyes, we’re calling you
Will you hear our cries, what will the poor boy do?
What will the poor girl do?
We’re coming to you
Whoa, Fuji-san
Whoa, mountain of our eyes, what do you see?
The girl with the omen dice, shaking the tree
Shaking the omen tree

PATTI SMITH – Free Money

Every night before I go to sleep
Find a ticket, win a lottery,
Scoop the pearls up from the sea
Cash them in and buy you all the things you need.

Every night before I rest my head
See those dollar bills go swirling ’round my bed.
I know they’re stolen, but I don’t feel bad.
I take that money, buy you things you never had.

Oh, baby, it would mean so much to me,
Oh, baby, to buy you all the things you need for free.
I’ll buy you a jet plane, baby,
Get you on a higher plane to a jet stream
And take you through the stratosphere
And check out the planets there and then take you down
Deep where it’s hot, hot in Arabia, babia, then cool, cold fields of snow
And we’ll roll, dream, roll, dream, roll, roll, dream, dream.
When we dream it, when we dream it, when we dream it,
We’ll dream it, dream it for free, free money,
Free money, free money, free money, free money, free money, free money.

Every night before I go to sleep
Find a ticket, win a lottery.
Every night before I rest my head
See those dollar bills go swirling ’round my bed.

Oh, baby, it would mean so much to me,
Baby, I know our troubles will be gone.
Oh, I know our troubles will be gone, goin’ gone
If we dream, dream, dream for free.
And when we dream it, when we dream it, when we dream it,
Let’s dream it, we’ll dream it for free, free money,
Free money, free money, free money, [X7]
Free money, free money, free money, free.

PATTI SMITH – Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Welcome to your life
There’s no turning back
Even while sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behaviour
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world
It’s my own design
It’s my own remorse
Help me to decide
Help make the most
Of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world
There’s a room where the light won’t find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do I’ll be right behind you
So glad we’ve almost made it
So sad they had fade it
Everybody wants to rule the world
I can’t stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision
Everybody wants to rule the world
Say that you’ll never never never need it
One headline why believe it?
Everybody wants to rule the world
All for freedom and for pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world

PATTI SMITH – Easter

Easter Sunday, we were walking.
Easter Sunday, we were talking.
Isabel, my little one, take my hand. Time has come.

Isabella, all is glowing.
Isabella, all is knowing.
And my heart, Isabella.
And my head, Isabella.

Frederick and Vitalie, savior dwells inside of thee.
Oh, the path leads to the sun. Brother, sister, time has come.

Isabella, all is glowing.
Isabella, all is knowing.
Isabella, we are dying.
Isabella, we are rising.

I am the spring, the holy ground,
the endless seed of mystery,
the thorn, the veil, the face of grace,
the brazen image, the thief of sleep,
the ambassador of dreams, the prince of peace.
I am the sword, the wound, the stain.
Scorned transfigured child of Cain.
I rend, I end, I return.
Again I am the salt, the bitter laugh.
I am the gas in a womb of light, the evening star,
the ball of sight that leads that sheds the tears of Christ
dying and drying as I rise tonight.

Isabella, we are rising.
Isabella, we are rising . . .

PATTI SMITH – Dead To The World

Dead to the world my body was sleeping
on my mind was nothing at all
come a mist an aire so appealing
I’m here a whispering you summouned I called

I formed me a presence whose aspect was changing
oh he would shift he would not shift at all
we sat for a while he was very engaging
and when he was gone I was gone on a smile

With a strange way of walking
and a strange way of breathing
more lives than a cat
that let me astray
all in all he captured my heart
dead to the world and just
slipped away

I heard me a music that drew me to dancing
lo I turned under his spell
I opened my coat but he never came closer
I bolted the door and whispered oh well

With a strange way of walking
and a strange way of breathing
more lives than a cat
that let me astray
all in all he captured my heart
dead to the world and just
slipped away

I laid in the rushes the air was upon me
wondering well I just couldn’t discern
will he come back come back to me
oh I whispered will you ever return

I was feeling sensations in no dictionary
he was less than a breath of shimmer and smoke
the life in his fingers unwound my existence
dead to the world alive I awoke

With a strange way of walking
and a strange way of breathing
less than a breath of shimmer and smoke
the life in his fingers unwound my existence
dead to the world alive I awoke
alive I awoke
alive alive I awoke
alive I awoke
alive I awoke
alive
I awoke
I awoke
alive I awoke
alive alive-o
alive alive-o

PATTI SMITH – Dancing Barefoot

She is benediction
She is addicted to thee
She is the root connection
She is connecting with he

Here I go and I don’t know why
I fell so ceaselessly
Could it be he’s taking over me…

I’m dancing barefoot
Heading for a spin
Some strange music draws me in
Makes me come on like some heroine

She is sublimation
She is the essence of thee
She is concentrating on
He, who is chosen by she

Here I go and I don’t know why
I spin so ceaselessly,
Could it be he’s taking over me…

[chorus]

She is re-creation
She, intoxicated by thee
She has the slow sensation that
He is levitating with she …

Here I go and I don’t know why,
I spin so ceaselessly,
’til I lose my sense of gravity…

[chorus]

(oh god I fell for you …)

The plot of our life sweats in the dark like a face
The mystery of childbirth, of childhood itself
Grave visitations
What is it that calls to us?
Why must we pray screaming?
Why must not death be redefined?
We shut our eyes we stretch out our arms
And whirl on a pane of glass
An afixiation a fix on anything the line of life the limb of a tree
The hands of he and the promise that she is blessed among women.

(oh god I fell for you …)

PATTI SMITH – Constantine’s Dream

I dreamed a dream of St. Francis who kneeled and prayed
For the birds and the beasts and all human kind
All through the night I felt drawn in by him
And I heard him call like a distant hymn

I retreated from the silence of my room
Stepping down the ancient stones washed with dawn
And entered the basilica that bore his name
Seeing his effigy I bowed my head

And my racing heart, I gave to him
I kneeled and prayed and sleep
That I could not find in the night
I found through him

I saw before me the world of his world
The bright fields, the birds in abundance
All of nature of which he sang singing of him
All the beauty that surrounded him as he walked

His nature that was nature itself and I heard him
I heard him speak and the birds sang sweetly
And the wolves licked his feet
But I could not give myself to him

I felt another call from the basilica itself
The call of art, the call of man
And the beauty of the material drew me away

And I awoke and beheld upon the wall
The dream of Constantine
The handiwork of Piero della Francesca
Who had stood where I stood

And with his brush stroke
The legend of the true cross
And he envisioned Constantine
Advancing to greet the enemy

And as he was passing the river
An unaccustomed fear gripped his bowels
An anticipation so overwhelming
That it manifested in waves

All through the night the dream drew toward him
As an advancing crusade
He slept in his tent on the battlefield
While his men stood guard

And an angel awoke him
Constantine within his dream awoke
And his men saw a light pass over the face
Of the king, the troubled king

And the angel came and showed to him
The sign of the true cross in heaven
And upon it was written
“In this sign shall thou conquer”

In the distance, the tents of his army were lit by moonlight
But another kind of radiance lit the face of Constantine
And in the morning light the artist seeing his work was done
Saw it was good in this sign shall thou conquer

He let his brush drop and passed into a sleep of his own
And he dreamed of Constantine
Carrying him into battle in his right hand
An immaculate undefiled and simple white cross

Piero della Francesca, as his brush stroked the wall
Filled with the torpor and fell into a dream of his own
From the geometry of his heart, he mapped it out
He saw the king rise, fitted with armor set upon a white horse

An immaculate cross in his right hand
He advanced toward the enemy and the symmetry
The perfection of his mathematics
Caused the scattering of the enemy agitated, broken

They fled and Piero dela Francesca, waking, cried out
All is art, all is future, oh Lord, let me die on the back of adventure
With a brush and an eye full of light
As he advanced in age the light was shorn from him

His eyes, blinded, he layed upon his bed
On an october morning, 1492 whispering
Oh Lord, let me die on the back of adventure
Oh Lord, let me die on the back of adventure, oh

And a world away, the world away
On three great ships, adventure itself as if to answer
Pulling into the new world
And as far as his eyes could see, no longer blind

All of nature, unspoiled, beautiful, beautiful
Such a manner it would have lifted
The heart of St. Francis into the realm of universal love
Columbus set foot on the new world

He witnessed beauty unspoiled
All of the delights given by God as if in Eden itself
As if Eden had opened up her heart to him
And opened her dress and all of her fruit, gave to him

And Columbus so overwhelmed
Fell into a sleep of his own
All the world in his sleep, all of the beauty
All of the beauty entwined with the future

The 21st century advancing like the angel
Advancing like the angel
That had come to Constantine
Constantine and history

Oh, this is your cross to bear
Oh Lord, oh Lord, let me deliver
Hallowed adventure
To all mankind in the future

Oh art, cried the painter
Oh art, oh art, cried the angel
Art, the great material gift of man
Art that hath denied the hungered pleas of St. Francis

Oh thou, artist, all shall crumble in the dust
Oh thou, navigator, the terrible end of man
This is your gift to mankind
This is your cross to bear

Then Columbus saw all of nature aflame
The apocalyptic night
And the dream of the troubled king
Dissolved into light

PATTI SMITH – Come Back Little Sheba

Come back little Sheba
I hear them calling
Open your ears
Awake from thy sleep
High above
The stars are falling
Open your arms
And you shall receive

The lights of the city
So bold and flashing
All of its riches
Imparted to thee
Robes of saffron
Robes of standing
A road of crimson
Spread at your feet

Your robes of standing
Your robes of saffron
Your road of crimson
All pleasing to me
But close your lights
Close your gates
I must arise
My flock awaits

Farewell little Sheba
I hear them a’calling
Here is your staff
Tend to thy sheep
Good wishes be with you
If that be your calling
Farewell little Sheba
Arise and take leave

PATTI SMITH – Citizen Ship

I was nothing. It didn’t matter to me.
Ah, there were tags all over my sleeve.
There was water outside the windows
and children in the streets with rats with tags.

Ain’t got a passport.
Ain’t got my real name.
Ain’t got a chance, sport, at fortune and fame.
And I walk these endless streets, won’t you give me a lift.
A lift. A lift. On your citizen ship.

They were rioting in Chicago, movement in L.A.
Sixty-eight it broke up the yardbirds.
We were broke as well.
Took it underground, M.C. borderline, up against the wall.
The wall. The wall.
Show your papers, boy.

Citizen ship we got mem’ries.
Stateless, they got shame.
Cast adrift from the citizen ship,
lifeline denied, exiled this castaway.

Blind alley in New York City, in a foreign embrace.
If you’re hungry you’re not too particular about what you’ll taste.
Men in uniform gave me vinegar, spoon of misery.
But what the hell, I fell, I fell.
It doesn’t matter to me.

Citizen ship we got mem’ries
Citizen ship, we got pain.
Cast adrift from the citizen ship,
lifeline denied, exiled this castaway.

I was caught like a moth with its wings outta sync.
Cut the chord. Overboard. Just a refugee.
Lady liberty, lend a hand to me, I’ve been cast adrift.
Adrift. Adrift. Adrift. Adrift. Adrift. Adrift.

On the citizen ship we got mem’ries
Citizen ship, we got pain.
Lose your grip on the citizen ship,
you’re cast, you’re cast away.
On the citizen ship you got mem’ry.
Citizen ship you got pain.
Citizen ship you got identity.
A name. A name. A name…

What’s your name, son?
What’s your name? …
What’s your name?

Nothing. I got nothing.
Jersey.
Give me your tired, your poor
Give me your huddled masses
your wartorn
Give me your wartorn and your
Lift up your unto me.
Ah, mythology.

PATTI SMITH – Changing Of The Guards

Sixteen years
Sixteen banners united over the field
Where the good shepherd grieves
Desperate men, desperate women divided
Spreading their wings ‘neath falling leaves.

Fortune calls
I stepped forth from the shadows to the marketplace
Merchants and thieves, hungry for power, my last deal gone down
She’s smelling sweet like the meadows where she was born
On midsummer’s eve near the tower.

The cold-blooded moon
The captain waits above the celebration
Sending his thoughts to a beloved maid
Whose ebony face is beyond communication
The captain is down but still believing that his love will be repaid.

They shaved her head
She was torn between Jupiter and Apollo
A messenger arrived with a black nightingale
I seen her on the stairs and I couldn’t help but follow
Follow her down past the fountain where they lifted her veil.

I stumbled to my feet
I rode past destruction in the ditches
With the stitches still mending beneath a heart-shaped tattoo
Renegade priests and treacherous young witches
Were handing out the flowers that I’d given to you.

The palace of mirrors
Where dog soldiers are reflected
The endless road and the wailing of chimes
The empty rooms where her memory is protected
Where the angel’s voices whisper to the souls of previous times.

She wakes him up
Forty-eight hours later the sun is breaking
Near broken chains, mountain laurel and rolling rocks
She’s begging to know what measures he now will be taking
He’s pulling her down and she’s clutching on to his long golden locks.
Gentlemen, he said I don’t need your organization, I’ve shined your shoes
I’ve moved your mountains and marked your cards
But Eden is burning either brace yourself for elimination
Or else your hearts must have the courage for the changing of the guards.

Peace will come
With tranquility and splendor on the wheels of fire
But will bring us no reward when her false idols fall
And cruel death surrenders with its pale ghost retreating
Between the King and the Queen of Swords.

PATTI SMITH – Hymn

When I am troubled in the night
He comes to comfort me
He wills me through the darkness
And the empty child is free

To take His hand, His sacred heart
The heart that breaks the dawn, Amen
And when I think, I’ve had my fill
He fills me up again

PATTI SMITH – Beneath The Southern Cross

Oh, to be not anyone
Gone this maze of being skin
Oh, to cry not any cry
So mournful that the dove just laughs the steadfast gasps

Oh, to owe not anyone
Nothing to be
Not here but here
Forsaking equatorial bliss

Who walked through the callow mist
Dressed in scraps
Who walked the curve of the world
Whose bone scraped, whose flesh unfurled

Who grieves not, anyone gone to greet lame
The inspired sky amazed to stumble
Where God’s get lost
Beneath the southern cross

PATTI SMITH – Because The Night

Take me now baby here as I am
Pull me close, try and understand
Desire is hunger is the fire I breathe
Love is a banquet on which we feed

Come on now try and understand
The way I feel when I’m in your hands
Take my hand come undercover
They can’t hurt you now,
Can’t hurt you now, can’t hurt you now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us

Have I doubt when I’m alone
Love is a ring, the telephone
Love is an angel disguised as lust
Here in our bed until the morning comes
Come on now try and understand
The way I feel under your command
Take my hand as the sun descends
They can’t touch you now,
Can’t touch you now, can’t touch you now
Because the night belongs to lovers …

With love we sleep
With doubt the vicious circle
Turn and burns
Without you I cannot live
Forgive, the yearning burning
I believe it’s time, too real to feel
So touch me now, touch me now, touch me now
Because the night belongs to lovers …

Because tonight there are two lovers
If we believe in the night we trust
Because tonight there are two lovers …

PATTI SMITH – Babelogue

I haven’t fucked much with the past,
But I’ve fucked plenty with the future.
Over the skin of silk are scars
From the splinters of stations
And walls I’ve caressed.

A stage is like each bolt of wood,
Like a log of Helen, is my pleasure.
I would measure the success of a night
By the way by the way by the amount of piss and seed
I could exude over the columns that nestled the P.A.

Some nights I’d surprise everybody by skipping off
With a skirt of green net sewed over
With flat metallic circles which dazzled and flashed.
The lights were violet and white.
I had an ornamental veil, but I couldn’t bear to use it.

When my hair was cropped, I craved covering,
But now my hair itself is a veil,
And the scalp inside is a scalp of
A crazy and sleepy Comanche
Lies beneath this netting of the skin.

I wake up. I am lying peacefully
I am lying peacefully and my knees are open to the sun.
I desire him, and he is absolutely ready to seize me.
In heart I am a Moslem;
In heart I am an American;
In heart I am Moslem,
In heart I’m an American artist,
And I have no guilt.

I seek pleasure.
I seek the nerves under your skin.
The narrow archway; the layers;
The scroll of ancient lettuce.

We worship the flaw, the belly, the belly,
The mole on the belly of an exquisite whore.
He spared the child and spoiled the rod.
I have not sold myself to God.