When the Clock Reads 14
He's 14 and that's no place for a stone to fall so heavy in the creek. First off, there is no tide. Secondly, there is no life. Chip the bark right off the tree and just hand it this way. You don't need a sugar pill to rattle down the street. He's 14 and you should know better. Watch the life rise up out of him like steam from a kettle. A shake starts in the chest when he hears the first baseline. An arm flutters hard to the right when the piano comes in and then he's 14. He's 14 forever.
What would you like to be other than that one thing that you dream? Right, nothing, that's what I thought. There is no reason to be anything less than hot air scraping up the sides of building wanting to breathe it's own body into space. Air runs around looking for stars and the body looks for an extension of its soul. It looks for an extension of it's movements. It's a nervous tic motion to the left. It's all a nervous tic. It's all nerves wrapped around what our brain needs to be satisfied.
Loss? Who has loss at 14? A spade is a spade. It's a ploy at nothing to claim loss at 14. You have the world. You have orgasms now. You have muscles sprouting and breasts budding out of your buddy. You have your life taking shape. You can see your face in 15 years and there is nothing to ask of life. How old are you now anyway? How dare you? I guess there was just no pleasing you.
I was born a couple miles from here. I was raised to be 14. I was tired after that. I was an old man wanting the Vox stand and the Gibson cherry stained wood. From the decade my family has run the town and you step out of line and the family council will set you straight. The day I fell in love, of course we fucked around. I followed through and now I have a moon. No geese to be part of your winged band because they won't let you run. They won't let you get beyond 14.
I was walking through a life one morning. The sun was out and the air was warm but I was cold. Do you believe in something beautiful? Do you believe in 14 the same way I believe in you? Do you remember when you were running with cool air on your face? You only remember what it's like to eat what is rotten. The latest in a grand tradition of "what did you find?". Don't fly just any banner. Don't believe in what isn't beautiful. 14 is beautiful. Call your friends because they've forgotten that even the nights can get better and the days aren't all that bad. Don't run from 14.
14 is not the last verse but it echoes. Everyone has their own 14. For you it might be when you are 30 but for this it's 14. For us it's 14. For the jagged waking morning keeping me up for the time being it's 14. All is the reason to seize the day and regrets befall today. Spread out like a Venus into muscle and feel your mountain below you. Blow your sand everywhere. The 14 of clubs stands making sense, talking to you about your wake at dawn.
It all ends in a sad song as 47 comes knocking. It all bleeds out when hands start shaking and other things beside Vox and base become important. Tell me where you are going. What is going wrong? I felt you leaving before you had even come. Hold me now and never hold me again. No more talk can take me from the idea that gold never fades. Moonlight rides out to the stars taking your 14 and leaving you with just something else. It leaves you with the imaginary number that was the same as the imaginary 14.
