Gaijin Weekend

In the cool dark of the bar
Schoolgirl wannabe dancing:
My serpentining beauty, rounds on rounds
And round and round as the room starts spinning,
And finally I feel at home again

Then lost out on the city grid
With no orientation programme:
All the streets look the same
And I'm going nowhere

Making deals with my conscience when I get
To smoke another cigarette
Dragging out the old vices
To remind myself of where I've been

And back in my box again
Cracking open a beer
Hiding the kitchen knife
And punching the walls

Lay my head on the pillow to listen to the voices:
It's just me and the whiskey
Against the ghosts in the night
And tomorrow morning it's all genki genki genki
With the sun in my eyes
So I can't see the red lights.

Spend the day dehydrated
And muzaked to death
'Til I'd kill for a chance
Just to be less extraneous

But there's no second chance
For a deer in the headlights
Watch the blue sky turn to grey
As I waste another year

Runaway

A door closed behind
And their voices are fading.
Tired of being
Their little girl

You followed the horizon
And found it to be blue:
An embrace of surf and sky
At the edge of your world.

So close your eyes,
Throw your thoughts to the winds
In armfuls as the waves kiss your knees

This is
The perfect way
To run away to sea.

The sun sets for you
And the moon watches over;
The wind is a lullaby
To smooth out your dreams.

Fall asleep in the sand, dreaming
Of icecream for breakfast
And fishes for tea
And never having
To say you're sorry

And wake up in a cold-fingered bundle
To watch the tide come stealing in:

Watch the waves spill out their strength
And suck your feet into the sand;
Watch the waves that break too early
Fall back into line.

The light's still on in your old room.
Some waves will never break at all.
So put a ribbon in your hair
And walk yourself back home.