Jandek

Name I Had

Jandek


Countless days in times of woe
Heady haze and bits of splendor 
Conscious maybe yet half asleep 
Wondering when the nice times leave 
They were always at my side 
Bearing time and place as well 
And inability like a plague 
Covers my constant grave 
Useless is the name I had 
How do I write that epitaph? 
Standing over granite stones 
Laid in a row in the grass near the pond 
Flowers floating in the breeze 
You told me “Hey come along now” 
But I was a boy yet hardly growing 
So times have changed and so have I 
I'm all of him and plenty more 
I could tell you where your lips should be 
And when your fingertips lightly on me 
And would I know on a purple rug 
Such dreams of moving you away 
And your happiness and you were content 
But this money tree 
Needs to roots to hoe 
And I've got so many baskets to make 
And so much metal to fore 
And these decisions to snatch and throw 
Can I snare you along the way? 
Can we ride in the black car 
To the granite house with an iron fence