The Hypocrite

Go on ahead, and take a good look at your friend

And reminisce back to all those past times I preached about

“never giving in”

To people from far distant places

Places promised never to revisit even in my head

Like, a social status full of disguised photos

That hides the ugly truth that runs through my blood underneath my skin

But, with a big fake smile

I can play the actor and pretend

Like it’s all so damn important

But boy by now, you better know who’re your true friends

Because it’s hilarious

And it’s sad

It’s comedic

And it’s tragic

What loneliness can do to a man

And I could blame it all on time

But the truth is… This is the loneliest I’ve ever been

So, go on ahead and take a good look at me now,

The one that choked on his own words

THE HYPOCRITE

(ALWAYS STAY TRUE TO YOUR SELF / NO MATTER WHAT THE CONSEQUENCE IS)

Sleeping On Bart’s Couch

Last night at the bar

I watched you disappear in the crowd

Holding someone’s hand

My girl of five years

Parading another guy around

And yeah, I deserved it

But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt

We even met on mutual grounds

After less than 6 days

I’d be leaving you the house

But nothing was ever good enough for you

So, go on ahead and tear me down

And yeah, I deserved it

But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt

For the time being

I’ll be sleeping on Bart’s couch

On a long, heavy bender

For a couple weeks or so

Until I leave town

And yeah, I deserved it

But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt

I’m glad to see though that we both made it out

You’re a compulsive liar

I’m unfaithful

And after all this time together

We’re strangers now

And yeah it hurts

By: S.M. Reno

Premonitions

Restless in bed

I hear the sound of weeping

Mournful & distressed

 

Walking down the hall

Something feels wrong

And the pitiful sobering met me

As I passed along

 

Going room to room

Apprehensive and confused

The discomforting sound is subdued

 

A light leads to the den

On the rug, a catafalque sits

Holding an empty casket

What’s the meaning to all of this?

What’s the meaning to all of this?

PREMONITIONS

 

By: S.M. Reno

In For The Long Day (memories from a better time)

When I know…….

I’m in for the long day

It’s memories from a better time

That keeps me sane

Restless in bed

With cold sweats

I shiver and shake

And suddenly can feel

All the love and heartbreak

I see their faces

And wonder…

How I could have avoided

The reckless mistakes that were made

I picture their lives

And wonder…

How much precious time went to waste

When everything can just suddenly change

Do they still have dreams?

And how many of those now, are too far away?

Would they laugh at the same pretentious jokes?

Or show their cards all nonchalant, and continue to play?

The twilight of my youth is over

And that’s okay

I made a cold bed to sleep in

When it was already years too late

By: S.M. Reno

Streetcar Madness

Streetcar Madness

Take me away to somewhere new

St. Charles is such a comely site

This time of the year, when springs in full bloom

Is there anywhere I haven’t been?

The car now is completely full

And there’s a tourist in my ear

Screaming at his kid

Like all good fathers do

All the windows are down

And the breeze comes in waves of nostalgia

Creeping by and passing through

I start thinking about my friends

Where they all are

And how stubbornly we took for granted our youth

The past is forever now in the shadows

While death awaits to make its move

Streetcar Madness

I’ll be getting off soon

Streetcar Madness

I’ll be getting off soon

 

By: S.M. Reno

 

Josephine (NIGHTMARE)

Starring out the frosted window

I see Josephine

Inside this brumal apartment

I see Josephine

Wearing a Cheshire Cat Grin

As she appears just as quick as she leaves

Vanishing into thin air

Every time I get near, or try to speak

“This is all just a cruel illusion”

These peculiar questions are starting to turn on me

Haven’t slept much

Seems as if I’ve been up for weeks

On a manufactured concoction 

Of Xanax, whiskey, oxycodone, and amphetamines

And the whole world feels upside down 

Spinning around at an obscured speed

I’m desperate just to try to get some sleep

The walls are closing in

It’s becoming hard to breathe

I can’t let you go

Josephine

 

Did I capitulate to evil?

Is this a bad dream? 

Did I capitulate to evil?

Is this a bad dream? 

 

She took one last look up into the nights sky 

Before crawling into bed for the long, deep sleep

She overdosed on her birthday 

After turning 23

I miss you 

I need you 

My friend 

My love 

Josephine 

 

Part 2 (NIGHTMARE)

 Is this a dream?

A kiss, a touch, a nightmare, a scream

Is this a dream?

A kiss, a touch, a nightmare, a scream

Don’t seek out the truth 

If you’re afraid of what you’ll see

The mother of all illusions

Nothing’s ever quite like it seems 

Until you’re alone 

And now I’m all alone 

Sitting in silence

Asking for you to wait for me 

 

GOOD THINGS ALWAYS END

By: S.M. Reno

 

 

The Saddest Smile

I was going to say something good…

On that night at our favorite bar

When we agreed to meet over drinks

A debt worth owed

After two agonizing, long weeks

But it was evident it was all over

The instant you entered the scene

And this grand illusion of us

Quickly became a figment of the imagination of a dumb boy’s dream

When our eyes finally met

I couldn’t even speak

And the moment passed in an unsubtle way

As I grinded my teeth

While you waited in silence

Waiting… for something romantic to come spilling out of me

But it’s been a long time

Back in our prime

Since I’ve risen to the occasion, and swept you off your feet

Then, without even saying goodbye

You started to make your way

To your car parked on Canal St.

Just when the perfect words arrived

A year too late

You turned back and smiled

The Saddest Smile

Probably, the last smile from you

I’ll ever again get to see

 

By: S.M. Reno

 

A Hotel Bed (a room of lies)

Gazing into her eyes

Anxious and surprised

Kiss me pretty girl,

Under the full moon lit sky

Tender is the night

 

Walking side by side

Wishing she was only mine

The Quarters singing now,

Full with spirits and life

Tender is the night

 

Dancing through jazz

Dressed in disguise

With something to hide

Time is precious, the minute’s fly

Tender is the night

 

Emotions spill out like red wine

I taste her lips

And move up her thigh

In a hotel bed

A room of lies

Tender is the night

 

Tender is the night

Tender is the heart

So, hold me tight

 

Hold me tight until sunrise

But the sun never shines

It never shines

 

The next morning always ends with the same goodbye

Parting on distant paths to our far different lives

 

By: S.M. Reno

 

Invite the Darkness in for a Drink

You’ll die with your secrets

That’s okay, they’re yours to keep

I have secrets, and when I die

They’ll be buried with me

So, be mine tonight

And let’s invite the darkness in for a drink

We’ll toast to calamity

That cataclysmic climb to the top of all of our fragmented dreams

We sure had a great run

My best friend

My enemy

My only companion, when the rain kept falling down

Raining for weeks

I was lost

Wandering around through the flooded streets

When I felt a familiar touch

Right before the water got too deep

Embraced within two arms

You whispered

“If you sink, I sink”

By: S.M. Reno