I
If God is Love
And the Kingdom of God is within you
Then the Kingdom of Love is within you
If Love is Blind
And the Kingdom of Love is within you
Then the Kingdom of Blindness is within you
The Blind lead the Blind
II
You can kill The
Buddha easily if you have
a one track mind
Myself, I like the bare essentials
in excess
I can’t drink like I used to. Everywhere
around me,
Texas redbuds
III
The Wright Brothers
Took flight at
10:35 AM
Brother, at last!
Hallelujah, amen!
Alive, aloft
Birds as gentlemen
IV
Beer & cigarettes
Welcome me
At the end of the day
My cat greets me
He puts on
Quite a show
I give him
Anything he wants
My landlord is an asshole
She’s left a note
Nevermind
It feels good
To take my boots off
V
Mike likes honey
And sugar
In his coffee
And PBR especially
When it’s free
He told me
“You remind me
Of James Dean”
I said
“Mike, James Dean didn’t
Have a beard”
He said “It’s something
About your eyes”
I told him I’d take
Him to the barbershop
For a haircut and
A beard trim
Goddamn
He could use it
One time
I saw Mike walk
Into the bathroom
With a prostitute
At a coffee shop
I worked at
If it was anyone else
I would’ve said
“What the fuck
Are y’all doin
Get outta there”
But it was Mike
And he told me
I reminded him
Of James Dean
It’s ok
Get you some
I heard someone
Ask Mike where
He lived
He said “Down by
The French Broad”
This guy says
“That’s a nice area”
What a douche
Some people don’t
Know how hard it is
To hang up a hat
Inside a tent
How it’s goddamn
Impossible to get clean
In dirty water
You can sing the blues
To any cat or dog
But that don’t mean
They wanna hear it
Wes Tirey is an Asheville-based singer-songwriter, guitarist, and collagist. His work has been critically praised by the likes of KEXP, No Depression, Uncut UK, and The Guardian. His latest album, “Wes Tirey Sings Selected Works of Billy the Kid”, puts music and melody to a selection of poems from Michael Ondaatje’s novel in verse, “The Collected Works of Billy the Kid”.
High Horse 