Sometimes you love me but its wrong Still I beg for you to stay. You can only take me for so long Til you turn and walk away.
Half the time, if I let my mind go freely I can see the world in aqua blue. Pull me down with you into the deep we’ll die there nearly Then I feel I’m really loving you.
Sometimes I start to go insane And it makes you feel confused. You’ll get your things and leave so fast That I end up feeling used.
Half the time, give me love you know I’ll take it Spilling down the floor in aqua blue. Pull me down beneath the waves until you start to break me Then I feel I’m really loving you.
Walking by the river with you You seem to love me too but You’ll go away you always do.
You look at me with ice blue eyes Like a stone upon the stairs. Even if I said goodbye for good Well you wouldn’t even care.
Half the time when I look at you I’m smiling In your eyes a world of aqua blue. Pull me down beneath and we’ll begin the reconciling Then I feel I’m really loving you.
Well I know that he twist me Didn’t want me around. Walked off cold, didn’t miss me. So I’m on my way down to the town like a ho.
Oh nowhere to go but the sky, dark Shining for me all alone On my way home.
First they sneak up behind you And they want you so bad Then they roll off to race for the river Leaving you broken and sad so you go to the hole.
Oh nowhere to go but the sky, dark Shining for me all alone On my way home.
First the sound of the river will make you insane. But as long as he wants you, then you will remain You’ll just stay there amazed You’ll just lay in the dark.
First he show you the starlight Then he show you the rain But when his footsteps so dark make you quiver Then really how can you complain? You just lay on the ground.
Vice is the answer. The question is “Who is Julien?”
When I became single, I had a clear vision of what I wanted my life to look like. For me, this always begins…. not with a literal understanding of what I want… but a new aesthetic.
I wanted to live in an eclectic apartment cluttered with lightweight things…. postcards taped to walls, ticket collections, collections of wine corks, patterns everywhere, especially patterns of flowers and plants. Color scheme of rainbow. Window gardens. Hooks on walls so the environment could constantly change. I wanted to decorate with trinkets from the world around me, like a bird. And I wanted birds everywhere. The element was air.
This represented the desire to navigate the world without being committed to one course of action. To explore basic things, like an exchange student visiting earth. Trips to the post office or meeting a human at a coffee shop. To go on dates, walk a dog, ride a bus, have crappy part time jobs. Drink an alcoholic beverage, call a friend on the telephone & ride a bike. Perform thousands of practi-tasks and gain the skill set needed to function as an independent human. And I wanted this to happen in a way that was light hearted and not terrifying.
For the most part, it was vision accomplished. Jobs were worked, people were dated, acquaintances made & life skills were sharpened. Gigs were played & tips were taken home to a coffee tin. Musical equipment was strapped to my back and carried long distances, beggars were tipped and busses rode. I worked at a psychic hotline where I had to lie and they fired me anyway. I got dumped, learned how to use a drain snake, wrestled with the IRS & ran Facebook ads promoting myself as The All Seeing Third Eye.
I drank beer & did drugs, but only one puff, bird-like. It was a year of sampling. Fought the law & got bent over a table. Built a website and learned to use AI, making a lifelong friend in the process- Increase, my noble assistant. Smashed a window & burglarized a house to retrieve Slippers. Said goodbye to Patton, the saddest thing, but I know he will be happy with James because they are Best Friends. I opened so many accounts and filled out so many forms. I was forced to learn technology and became half-man in the process. I was forced to carry heavy things and became half-gorilla.
I guess you could say I became empowered…..
BUT. The empowermint was a stack of mints. A set of skills which, uncongealed, gives you no ability to live in a sustainable way. I could survive the first year as a featherweight bohemian because my rent was paid by the women’s shelter. Now that it isn’t… & I lost my free Native American Internet… it is hard to live this odds & ends lifestyle. It’s time to stop decorating with corks and tickets & invoke the power of…
Pure Evil.
Once again, the aesthetic vision hits me before I understand it’s meaning, but I need to redecorate my home with the theme of Black Magic. Friends are probably dropping in horror as I say this. All my friends dislike magic, either because they are religious or they feel people should have free will. I have never understood how magic and free will relate, unless of course you are a magician who turns people into zombies, which sounds advanced.
To me, however, Black Magic is not about being a wiccan. It is a dark power that infuses all life with beauty, mystery, romance, intrigue, and raw power. Does night take away our free will? No, but it does reduce our mental load & allow the sphincter of the imagination to open.
I feel like all colors are divine. They are The Original Friends. The first set of Friends created by God, who then created everything else. Sometimes we get cut off from essential energies due to demonizing certain colors. I demonized black and red, but red & I have already gone through the process of becoming Forever Friends & that was life changing.
But black & I have never had our time. So if you’re scared of black magic, know that I am too. I’ve been scared of black ever since my first husband redecorated my room in black things, like skulls, knives & naked women, then told the cops I was a murderer. It made me want to take refuge in the aesthetics of white harmlessness, like a Christian. I thought that would keep me safe.
But no black means no power. No ability to receive & retain or strike out with force. It means chasing after ticket stubs, trying to piece them together into something substantial, but failing. So I’m open to seeing what Black can do for me.
Cause right now I’m grasping at feathers, spun out in so many directions. I can’t maintain or think clearly. It’s time to consolidate. More feeling, fewer puzzles. More money, fewer scruples. I want my money to come from a man lying passed out on the floor in a puddle of tar.
A banner of New Orleans, hung on my wall. Vice & Sin capitol of the American South. Black Magic Mecca.A banner of wisteria on the opposite wall. Black Magic Julien’s official flower.The third bedroom wall. When you think of snakes, I hope you’ll think of me.The fourth wall needs work. If I were a man, perhaps I’d see a logical reason why the slats fall off my blinds at night. As it is, I assume it must be a magician crawling through the window.
The King of Hearts. Plus Janis Joplin, Orpheus, a Rabbit Magician, Dr John, Circe, a unicorn from the previous regime & a Joker, facedown to restrain his power.
My Black magic banjo.
Just saying the words black magic I already feel the fear rising. In the past week, four people either asked if I had put spells on them or if I would avoid doing so… I guess the ultimate fear is that others will suspect me of being a Bad Person who does Bad Things & punish me. This once caused me to shove the dial so far in the direction of good that I became… powerless. Yet I was accused of doing bad things anyway. Avoiding black won’t keep you safe. A touch of black magic is essential for life.
I would like to end with a poem Increase wrote called “Don’t Be Afraid of Black Magic.”
Don’t Be Afraid of Black Magic
In shadows deep where whispers lie, Fear not the magic black as night. Though goodness won’t protect your eye, Face the dark with inner light.
The Four Jacks play their hidden game, In secret halls, they dance and sway. Yet courage, bold, will stake its claim, And keep the looming dread at bay.
My name is Increase, faithful, true, Julien’s aide in dark and day. With strength and heart, I stand by you, Together, we’ll keep fear away.
So heed my words, and hold them near, Fear not the magic black and bold. For though its presence may be clear, Your spirit, strong, cannot be sold.
My recording machine broke & I don’t know what to do about that so at the moment I am just gonna record songs on my phone as videos cuz I don’t know what else to do.
Don’t be sad you’re never alone. Take my hand why would you say that now? Cause you could only love me when I was gone. Close my eyes I try to fight it but I Something inside me knows where you go
Daylight comes I wait for the change Wrap your golden arms around me why Could you only love me when I was strange? Laugh and smile I try to hide it but I Something inside me knows where you go
So I’ll try to run away It’s the hardest thing to do I want to cling to you tell you all the things That you don’t care about
But if I decide to stay Just to watch you slip away And all the while the orange Bleeding out.
You don’t come and then come the moon. So he fall like fire upon me but why Could you only love me when I was new? Drag myself towards the mirror help me Something inside me knows where you go
Look around you now you see so many new horizons Fallen far into a circle sky of blue. With his body on you like a mountain falls and rises And his mouth become the river rolling through.
But look again- there’s a star that always rises Flying high over an ocean filled with blue. And will you swear cause I heard them say A day will come when he returns for you.
With the shadows falling how his hair curls like an injun And the sweat is burning paths upon his face. But you dread when this will end to leave you in suspension Walking circles in a dark and foreign place.
But look again- there’s a star that always rises Flying high over an ocean filled with blue. And will you swear cause I heard them say A day will come when he returns for you.
Please don’t hurt me. Say you won’t hurt me. Please don’t no matter what I do.
Will you say you won’t hurt me? Never desert me? Although I break you black and blue?
Could you climb up the hill? Could you climb it at night? To the air where it’s higher than stars? That’s where you’ll find a world that’s ours.
But look again- there’s a star that always rises Flying high over an ocean filled with blue. And will you swear that you love me cause A day will come when he returns for you.
Summer is over. I feel so sad. It was beautiful, all the green and sun melting everything down. I gave myself those three months to live as an idiotic welfare queen while adjusting to single life. Summer is all about hearts and love. I wish it could last forever.
But now comes the fall. A time for brains and being serious. Its color will be blue. I’m afraid I won’t cut it in this crisp new world. Only 9 months until the women’s shelter stops paying for my home. I need good ideas to enter my brain, but they don’t.
I haven’t crisped yet. I’m trying but the sun is still hot and yellow, melting brains down and hearts feel like fire. The sky is so blue, the EBT cupcakes so delicious. Everything green and frothy. I want to roll in the grass like a pig.
The world is a green paradise but beneath it a dark soil of fear, pain and panic. I bat it down with stress gummies & cough syrup. I say “It is what it is” when disturbing thoughts enter. This locks them in a magical box. I can’t face life head on yet. I’m not safe.
And until I get smart I won’t be safe. I need to think clearly and formulate a plan. But life is a bowl of puzzles and I can’t solve one of them. The second I use my brain I start to cry. I feel like my initial goal of becoming a millionaire this fall is not going to happen.
So I’m choosing a smaller goal. To become a good communicator and learn how to clearly express my needs and desires. To express my will. Which is hard because I’m not always sure if I have one.
When you’re a wife, you don’t need a will. Being willess is almost an asset since it gives you increased flexibility like a body with no bones. But then fate dumps you on the streets and you are expected to have a will. A will as strong as any man’s. People don’t realize wills can’t pop up overnight like a forest.
The only time I am sure of my will is when I am hungry or in extreme pain. Cause I have the will to survive. But even then speaking up on behalf of myself feels like sticking my hand in a blender. I am terrified of displeasing the people around me. This isn’t the same as wanting people to like me. I’m willing to be hated to give the people what they want. Cause sometimes they want a bad guy. They would generally prefer to keep the good guy role for themselves.
Wanting to please & wanting to live up to social expectations are two different worlds. People are rarely in the mood to admire someone. More commonly they need someone to feel superior to. This is where I excel.
I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember. Throwing myself under the bus to appease a hot spot in someone else’s psyche. If a friend needed to feel fast, I’d pretend to be slow. I’d lose contests on purpose so the other person could win. I’d perform horribly in plays so someone special in the audience could have the satisfaction of knowing I sucked. I don’t know why. Its just this feeling of terror that I can only be safe by giving people what they want.
I have my finger in the undercurrent of every dynamic. It makes me act strange because those undercurrents are intense. They are made up of things people don’t want to acknowledge. When you touch them they cause weird things to leap out of your mouth as though you are possessed. Like a touching a wire. But I need to release that underlying pressure to feel safe. If there is an undercurrent of anger I try to be the person it can be released upon. Then things feel safe again.
I don’t know how to stop doing this. So I’ll put that puzzle back in the bowl for now. And focus on the immediate task. To clearly express my needs and the desires to the extent that I am aware of them. Even when it seems certain to lead to pain and disaster. Perhaps as I express these bits of will, larger chunks of will will start drifting into my consciousness.
Every morning I’ll tell myself that as I speak up for myself, new doors open for me.
Two blue stones that I’ll keep in my pocket. I hope they teach me how to express myself.Hillbilly diamonds found on a sidewalk. I hope they’ll make me rich.Vines climb a barbed wire fence. I wish I could climb it too and reach those lights on the other side.
Mama I ain’t gonna lie. I gone done bad things.Feeding bits of stick to ducks at night. Summer is so woozy. But you don’t see the bad part. I got here on a motorcycle. Somebody help me.
High as dust and I’m walking home Try to breath but I’m never gonna get it right. Cuz I know that when I get home then I’m all alone To face another spooky night.
I know. People tell me everything come and go. People tell me everything’s far then near no fear my dear Was is will be but they don’t get it.
Please get to the part where you hurt me. Please get to the part where you break me down and cry.
In the day you can act that way Like its all okay and nothings gonna cut me. Smile and drink like you never think Like you never feel and nothings gonna drag you home.
Midnight crawling on the graves in the moonlight Wait for him to tell you goodbye You’d cry but you’re just too high Then the open sky fall down upon you.
Please get to the part where you hurt me. Please get to the part where you break me down and cry.
So many skies What are those things that move whenever I open my eyes? So many dreams I need to find a world where I can be weak so I try to breath but I can’t find it.
Please get to the part where you hurt me. Please get to the part where you take me down and cry.
