Polaroids

Hands on the casket, hand full of soil
Hand a rose to the widow
She lays it tastefully angled down and to the right
The mahogany and the white contrast nicely, as well as the black tie attire
The air of this event, somebody was important
But a distant stare proves too strong to ignore it
Little window on the ground floor of the chapel
And a face pressed up against it make fog breath
Highlights a fading heart
Raindrops on the hood of the El Dorado
Her acrylics clickin' on the headlight
Her bubblegum poppin', her head slightly angled
Down and to the right
And her angel pendant danglin' like a lynched bird
Space for a last prayer, pained like a pinched nerve
Awaiting a last word, posture reading: Last straw
Tempered stance of her partner is palpable even out of the frame
And without her naming his crime
He must be prostrate like a last prayer awaiting a last word
Posture reading: Fuck
Whiteboard, multicolored lines in dry erase
Roughly angled down and to the right
This is right before the leap through the open window
But in the moment it's all smiles and perfectly crowned teeth (perfectly crowned teeth)
Someone looking secretary, no offense, but that's the air she gives off
With the pleated skirt and neatly tucked-in blouse (neatly tucked-in blouse)
Holds a phone as if it were a scarier event
That these executives who read her work don't even know about (don't even know about)
And frozen in this pantomime, a moment where it happened
Time would split off with a fix to make its mighty mountains cry (mighty mountains cry)
But curled lip and terror eyes, a giveaway of what she hides
The backside of the picture dated 1929

All of these photos hidden tucked neatly in a box
And hidden in a sock drawer or underneath the bed
Memories are gobos making shadows on the locked present that has been fixed
So it's best to leave them dead

Don't bother with it, live lobotomy
Split the bottle better
Drink to God and leave the past behind for the fire
Don't nobody want these polaroids
Don't bother with it, live the lighter side
Split the spliff together
Smoke to God and leave the past behind for the fire
Don't nobody want these polaroids

Hands in the air
Half eyes wide, half eyes smiling
And a couple other with they heads covered up, too afraid to look
The track slopes down and to the right
Rough guess, two seconds from the top of the drop
The exhilaration on the faces of the riders
More than worth the price tag of the print-out
Which was also way too high
Time-stamped by mullet length and neon billabong logo
And fitted cap with hologram sticker on the underside
That certainly won't last till the ride comes to a stop
Peace signs and wide grins in the foreground
And the background is a great powerful cascade
Of water falling from way out of frame
Down and to the right
It's way out of place to say, and way out of time
But ain't it strange that both these kids are dead?
Anyway, the deep green of the foliage so definitively wild
People used to drive to places like this just to escape
If you look close
You can see the early fiber optic cables stretching out into the jungle
The beginning of the end
A still life in motion, one of those night traffic shots
The long exposure makes the tail lights stretch ad infinitum
Down and to the right
Red tiger striping the city street so it reads raver
This is before the riots
Ghostly in the out-of-focus, high rises are rising as they're won't to do
Contorting just like trees looking for Sun (trees looking for Sun)
Mostly to the left, you'll notice piling up like nothing new
The boxes for the shanties that these buildings would become (these buildings would become)
Cobbled by the potholes
Here they are before they sunk (are before they sunk)
Like on hold for glottal stops approaching with the Sun (approaching with the Sun)
They're choking on the words they never said
So soon the running from the end of life that no one really figured had begun

All of these photos hidden tucked neatly in a box
And hidden in a sock drawer or underneath the bed
Memories are demons trying to burn the edges of the present that has been fixed
So it's best to leave them dead

Don't bother with it, live lobotomy
Split the bottle better
Drink to God and leave the past behind for the fire
Don't nobody want these polaroids
Don't bother with it, live the lighter side
Split the spliff together
Smoke to God and leave the past behind for the fire
Don't nobody want these polaroids