There's a moon out tonight that gives this old town more light than I can remember As a drunken cripple walks up a flight of stairs Or maybe I'm just seeing things It wouldn't be the first time I'm working a sweat, got too many clothes to wear Down here everything always feels damp And …
Jessica Chastain
your eyes like sapphire sent gleaming in the night your hair like fire temptress, I'm dreaming in your light as you croon young woman you make me shake as you speak soft and true for me, your desert snake your tears are cold, I see your hand to hold No, I do not dare, your …
I Shall Be Free
Music and Lyrics by Ren Michael From the steelyards of this crimson station I had a dream that I dove into the sea And I swam a million miles out to the promised land Saying 'Lord, I shall be free.' Yea, they can chain me all day, say I'm a sinner Bolt my hands, say …
For Charlie Parker
Late in the night tonight, just some minutes ago I wrote a piece for Charlie Parker, after a watching a documentary on him earlier tonight. The influence he had on me creatively, in those early years that I moved out here, and the influence he continues to have on me cannot be overstated and he …
The Angel and the Ghost
You are the angel And I am the ghost You are the dream, near and in the trees And I am the creature lost in eternal dry-spun hope I am like the goblin caught in his own fire I come out again, with a grin Your beauty, inspired And on this rise we've been since …
Oh America!
In the cold, narrow streets of old Santa Fe a secluded, warm cafe I contemplate America how as a boy I never thought once of the name until I saw the desert gazed at the sun rising slow outside Roswell a state road, no other cars drove, I am there, I am here I saw …
An Elderly Man Dreams of Spain
He's broken down, exhausted, his back in great pain But his heart is resolved, inside's thunder and rain. And though his feet can't carry the weight of his motion He looks east and is merry for the promise 'cross the ocean. He dreams of Madrid and Seville, and the running of the Bulls Pamplona, Barcelona, …
Song to the Young Pilgrim
Fear not youngblood, lying neath the sun, for I crave only adventure. Embrace this day, for there is no way to sit and predict the future. Yes I see you, young and warm and resting by fire And I know, for I am old, of all the things you desire; But you haven’t seen the …
The Driver Named Abraham
It was at a Starbucks on Melrose Ave, in West Hollywood, that I met Abraham. He’d moved from Jordan to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1990; and then out to Los Angeles only five years ago. Since then he’s been working nights at a gas station from 10 p.m. until 6 the next morning. This week …
January 2015
You've Been Away, and You've Come Home to Search for Home Yet He'd been here before in this city and yet it was a stranger to him. He'd lived and breathed its air, and walked its streets and canals and it smiled to him and stared. It was a new night, but to life there …
Death in New Mexico
Have you found your epiphany now? Asked Cal in a voice that sounded dream-like. Since the final miles of west Texas everything had seemed like a dream, and in New Mexico, the sky grew violet-like and the desert appeared almost immediately. The road now gradually rose and fell, and plateaus appeared on the plain like …
The Man Named Colombus
In West Texas there are ghost towns, where lone trucks drive toward no apparent destination. The trucks, the people, the sounds and rattlesnakes all seem to be ghosts themselves. Many of the towns we drove through had no name. We stopped in one of the last small towns on the border. It was very quiet …
Goodbye, Oh Night My Friend
Well the love lights in your eyes, Rising high above the skies, As I stand tall tonight, hear the wind softly cry, As the city lights, they shine. I remember when they said How the warmth of a faithful friend Can last you till the end, a true Godsend. I feel the sun now 'round the …
The Pimp and the Band of Orphans
I woke up the next morning and Lucy was gone. The Spanish princess was gone too. Cal stood out of bed looking bewildered, asking me if I thought the girls were thieves in the night. We checked the room and nothing had been stolen. “Well," said Cal. "Was it all just some crazy dream then?” …
Jude Moonlight and Cal Corso
Cal and I went to the same Catholic school when we were kids and received all the sacraments in the same church. I remember that I feared the church, that I was caught up in destiny and purpose, in fulfilling God’s plan and the whole deal. But as I grew older I began to view …
I Had a Showdown with the Devil in London
I walk these streets tonight burning bright by my soul My friends came and went, yea I stood alone Felt so alive, though I could soon die, yea I's far from home From the shadows rose the face I'd known from long ago I looked straight into his eyes, they were emerald green Time chimed …
Continue reading "I Had a Showdown with the Devil in London"
The Four Horsemen
I remember the moon shining bright, the night Bin Laden died, on that last, cold night in April down in the swamps of Gainesville, Florida. The last week of graduation. The four of us looked at the television in silence, watching the flashing images from across the country, of the jubilant crowds gathered in New …
You’re There
In every night In every star, you're there In every tree and every song, you're there And I hear your voice echo 'cross every pine needle fallen, Your name so sweet and fair, you're there. I remember the touch of your skin The glow of your youthful smile Your laugh like soft music to me …
Angelino Prayer (Prayer of the Seeker)
Fearless Spirit, Cast off the ruins, and Blow off the dust. Take all my money, man In now I trust, I just Want to gleam in gold, and Rise like fire, Warm as a gun, boy, Soft as desire. And I'll dance in the firelight, Like the blade of a knife, And I'll salute death …
Rain pours in March for the Satori
What a crazy thing I think about, when its all about my career and acting classes, and the teachers who look at you with silent acknowledgement that you’re not at their level yet 'kid', but you show some promise at doing the thing in life that seems so important to everyone in the room, but …
Ren Michael 