My mom playing the radio
dancing with the broom
singing of Old Black Magic
as she swept around the room

Blues on a hot summer day
at grandma's and auntie Kit's
The whir of a fan and slap of cards
her amber glass of Tiger Schmidt's

I learned I had a bass voice
Sweet Lips Closer to The Phone
I sang country, rock and roll
I had a Jim Reeves tone

I Couldn't Get No Satisfaction
so I tried most everything
I found my taste eclectic
but certain things I had to sing

The key to life, is to hedge your bets
To rely on one thing is foolish
It’s a skeleton key, it opens all doors
To success, and it’s very moreish
When you open the locks
The doors may then close
And you’ll be stuck, hard place and a rock
So, leave the door open
Heed my words that are spoken
The doors, are your many options
You have one key, don’t lose it
It’s your brain, be sure to use it
It seems to me, that to live takes grit
And a small fee from a locksmith
The shop is your mind

When my spirit was shrouded in stygian gloom,
She came.
With eyes of fire she burned away the darkness.
I was fettered like an eagle in a cage,
She came.
Like a blast from the heavens and tore away my shackles.
I was free.
To soar,
To swoop,
To live again.

A bottomless pit with no definite impact.
The constant edge you sit on not knowing your left from right,
or up from down.
Everything is still, just as you're used to.
You then notice that suddenly your skin starts to tingle,
sending a shiver so powerful, your soul shakes.
Air escapes your lungs and every breath you take is met with forks and knives.
You're drowning.
The bottomless pit had tricked you.
There was no edge to sit on,
as the inevitable was about to happen.