"In Lieu of an Overture" (G. Dante)
y'all we're coming out
in leaps and bounds
our sight would be a wasted fright
without the sound

we hereby convene
in champagne-drenched profanity
the cheeky, glittered tramps
we've come to be

yo hear us holler
from beautiful squalor
we're trash in bracket
how do you do?
oh yeah, we think we love you too

blur the lines around your eyes
the line around your lips
and we'll blur the line
between obsessions and relationships

we'll rattle every bar
on this guilded cage
but you'll never see
the mess we are back stage
would you like to?
how do you do?

with broken hearts in check
and minds cocksure
we'll celebrate this underage
in lieu of an overture



"The Crack in Your Glass Slipper" (G. Dante)
dance the light 
the trick inside my camera
memory is all I have
I wonder why; what went wrong
diamond star baby doll

you rested on the velvet
with your lips lined along
the belt of Orion
the glimmer in my window

…baby doll
starring in films that will never be made
the crack in your glass slipper
since, my roses have all turned to jade

one thousand years ago
to me you gave your final blessing
and I caught your last song 
diamond star now you’re gone
baby doll



"Little Belle" (G. Dante)
little belle
do their prayers keep you company?
little belle
was that you making noise 
at all the boys coming then going 
down on first street?

little belle
guardian angel
smile
watching over the golden child

safe in the arms of passed relations
little belle
we'll join you soon
it won't be long
when time's measured in oblivion

little belle
guardian angel
smile
watching over the golden child
won't you smile?
watching over the golden child

now I never knew you
neither did he - my future boyfriend
I never knew he existed
til kitten faxed me his picture
was that your influence?
was that your spell?
aw aw aw...

little belle
baby doll kisses sweet
little belle
will you watch over me
the next time in NYC when
I go down on Christopher Street?

little belle
guardian angel
smile
watching over the golden child
aw aw aw
smile
watching over the golden child
won't you smile?



"Beautiful Drag" (G. Dante)
stun/radiate 
all your shock visual
all the while there's no grace
from which tramps like we can fall
colors fade, but never die

keep me in
the back pocket of your heart
and the back of your mind
keeping score and keeping time
you're a diamond, a butterfly

it's all such a beautiful drag
an irresistable mess
signalling both lust and distress
such a beautiful drag
divine decadence
squander the remainder of my common sense

drive til we're crazy
you're the times I'll never beat
fabulous freak
shining in my suicide seat
sing to me, albeit born too late,
in your brand new key
I'll be your brand new rollerskates
all roads lead to this

it's all such a beautiful drag
an irresistable mess
signalling both lust and distress
such a beautiful drag
divine decadence
squander the remainder of my common sense

cyan on the outside
magenta within
with a hazy delivery 
and a yellow, fuzzy chin

such a beautiful drag
divine decadence
squander the remainder of my common sense
a beautiful drag
an irresistable mess
will you leave me all alone with my loneliness?

don't I know your soul?
  (you're beautiful)
don't I know your soul?



"A Madness to his Method" (G. Dante)
enchanted by a picture
I wrote its history
a money shot
by a random slut

mine's an x-ray mirror
sees through gorilla suits
slash the skin, see royal red
the princess within

I am gorgeous
I am without disease
there is nothing in this brave new world
wrong with me

I am gorgeous
I am finally free
from this storm of hands
lips like quicksand
and gravity
watch me falling down...down...

enchanted by a picture
I wrote its melody
she said, "when I am queen I'll hack the limbs off
all who dared to want me!"
watch me falling down...down...

I am gorgeous
I am without disease
there is nothing in this brave new world
wrong with me

I am gorgeous
I am finally free
from this storm of hands
lips like quicksand
and gravity
watch me falling down...down...



"Purity of Intent" (G. Dante)
right now typing my days away
is the only thing next to tricks that keeps me sane
the voice you heard on the phone:
it was pure. it was hers. it was mine.
but, of course, if you can't have me, then I must be a lie
 
I am alive and I am real
as the pain we share and the love for you I feel
and I breathe fire when they want ice - you know the deal
I know all you think you want I will reveal
 
from muse to artistry, ruse to celebrity
my work is as key as the legend that surrounds me
all you parlay you behold you convey you control
through a mask and a show the metaphoric truth can be told
 
I am alive and I am real
as the pain we share and the love for you I feel
and I breathe fire when they want ice - you know the deal
I know all you think you want I will reveal



"The Starlet Hits the Wall" (G. Dante / A. Frank)
the pages of the book you were:
empty, cold, and white
they'd overlook your lack of verse
and that you were unkind
because the cover was divine

hit your peak at so young an age
in your teens and your prime
these will be your glory days
your only gifts enjoyed by all
save the awkward and the blind

time can be so cruel
late bloomers and dark halls
too beautiful, too soon, too bad 
when the starlet hits the wall

take all you want, just say the word
pride before the fall
the well you dug, soon ran dry
and from your highest high school highs 
you won’t graciously decline

time can be so cruel
late bloomers and dark halls
too beautiful, too soon, too bad 
when the starlet hits the wall

you never saw the end in sight
before you know it’s all flown by
when the flower’s lost its bloom 
and your looks have left the room
you best try to survive 
on more than just your milkshake and a smile

time can be so cruel
late bloomers and dark halls
too beautiful, too soon, too bad 
when the starlet hits the wall



"Photosynthetic" (G. Dante)
take a photograph
take no artistic license
just the white lights
the surgical steel
the forensic evidence

take a long, hard look
take it all in slowly
do you know me?
do you know me?

the camera's trained to lie
what beauty lies in this beholder's eye
princess, plastic and pathetic
photosynthetic

take an acid bath
your fingertips immersed
watch the image return to life
reborn and rehearsed

missing all that's perfect
and unseen
a portrait of the artist
the monster and his dream

the camera's trained to lie
what beauty lies in this beholder's eye
princess, plastic and pathetic
photosynthetic

you said, "my life is envied,
also empty, and absolutely 
nothing in between."

what has he done to make you happy?
what has he done lately for you baby?
what has he done to make you happy?
replace him easily with me



"Brian, My Darling" (G. Dante)
my dirty darling
my once and future starling
are you the mirage at my wits' end?

scaffoldings, balconies
absolutes and maybes
we can't be saved
that much I understand

if they, my precious lovely,
don't treat you like you need be
come up, I dare you, see me
we'll start this off with a bang

a fleshy rollercoaster
this show is never over
I got your number there's room
for you in my gang

my painting days of endless broken walls
sometimes boys just want to play with dolls
she can be wicked, she can be cruel
she's a little bit like me
but I'm a little bit like you

there is a place
we will go 
whose only doors 
are closed to most

where angels lie
in secret knots
and careless boys
tear out their hearts

my dirty darling
my once and future starling
are you the mirage at my wits' end?



"C Star" (G. Dante)
you've been taught to calculate
every move that you make
life is a balancing act
and a sleight of hand

stars come out, sons go down
we like girls in velvet underground
cruising for a piece of the boys
in my band

so check out my cock
it's a song, not super long
but it pounds like a hammer
rock out with my cock out
til dawn

basement jaws, toys in the attic
tomorrow you'll be eating static
but tonight, it's alright
he won't mind

surrender, but offer no conditions
you ought to be in pictures
this is your audition
you're so fine, sho' nuf,
it's showtime

so check out my cock
it's a song, not super long
but it pounds like a hammer
rock out with my cock out
til dawn

you're so fine, sho' nuf,
it's showtime

so check out my cock
it's a song, not super long
but it pounds like a hammer
rock out with my cock out
til dawn

"The Love Letter is Dead" (G. Dante)
when you're young
you must feel invincible
these epic dramas belong
in the hallways of our high school

when you're young
you hold the torch
you stay the course, like some tragic captain
of colliding worlds

but you know he's wrong
and I know I'm right
you spent so long wasting time
at the end of his line

the love letter is dead
you sentimental fool
when words return, they only serve
as a source of ridicule

the love letter is dead
you're chasing a ghost
through handwritten scriptures and pictures
for which his victims have posed
the love letter is dead

...and unravelled means uncool
the observer is shattered
not someone who mattered in his world

when you're young
free will puts fingers to keys
and looks can kill, but only
distill such tragedies

yes I know it's wrong
the words you write
will fall on deaf ears and 
be seen by lifeless eyes

the love letter is dead
you sentimental fool
when words return, they only serve
as a source of ridicule

the love letter is dead
you're chasing a ghost
through handwritten scriptures and pictures
for which his victims have posed
the love letter is dead

yes I know he's wrong
we should say goodnight
new days will dawn, baby move on
kiss him goodbye

the love letter is dead
you sentimental fool
when words return, they only serve
as a source of ridicule

the love letter is dead
you're chasing a ghost
through handwritten scriptures and pictures
for which his victims have posed
the love letter is dead

when you're young
you must feel invincible



"The Dreamers" (G. Dante)
one of us, accepted, insatiable 
losers in the front row
reinforce the womb, the home within our home: 
celluloid and Bordeaux

your Siamese stronghold
these connected lovers can revolt

friends collide, lovers converge
here am i: a writer’s mind at a loss for words
a weary waterfall, a lonely siren’s call,    
I will trade you all your tears for dreams

your eyes taste my lips as if you love me too
like she loves you
cold culture counter blind 
still joined together at the heart and mind

friends collide, lovers converge
here am i: a writer’s mind at a loss for words
a weary waterfall, a lonely siren’s call
I will trade you all your tears for dreams

friends collide, lovers converge
here am i: a writer’s mind at a loss for words
a weary waterfall, a cure-all caterwaul
I will trade you all your tears for dreams



"Like a Satellite" (G. Dante)
flames rain from the sky tonight
boy you’re dropping like a satellite

the cosmonaut will speak in tongues    
this metaphor will burn his lungs
reach escape velocity
and break the pull of gravity

boy you’re dropping like a satellite
the attraction fades to black, but not out of sight
intentional, exquisite, and obscene
in the vein of someone loved by someone loved by me

to two dimensions he’s reduced
the cosmonaut through flaming hoops
a flash of trash and circuitry
jamming unknown frequencies

intentional, exquisite, and obscene
we loved you if only in our dreams

let it fade, remain in outer space
let if fade, save face and walk away
let it fade, remain in outer space
let if fade… and walk away



"To a God Unknown" (G. Dante)
in the dead of a New England winter
I dreamt of you standing on a river
  (surface stable, remaining frozen)
your hands were cold and in your heart was a quiver 
of arrows from the angels
  (Eros and Orion)

everyday this town finds 
a new way to break your heart
your feet may tread the gutter 
but your eyes will always reflect the stars

table for one by a window over Desolation Boulevard
  (isn't there a better place you've got to be?)
examining your turbulent relationship with God
  (what was today's reason to leave?)
he can’t forgive you, or can’t you forgive yourself?
so dress it up and become someone else

connect the dots
constellations
prick your finger
let it bleed

you are not what you see
something more than inspiration
reflecting in your vanity

autonomous automaton
despising yourself
dissecting your thoughts
are you Pavlov’s dog?
our issues hang suspended
we are music unresolved

table for one by a window over Desolation Boulevard
examining your turbulent relationship with God
he can’t forgive you, or can’t you forgive yourself?
so dress it up and become someone else


"OK Sunshine" (G. Dante)
false expectations
empty train stations
the scenery and mood
all shades of gray

rats in the cellar
broken umbrellas
on the subway
during a hurricane

OK OK OK 
I need a little sunshine

feeling my heartbreak on stages 
to sweet rock of ages
and wilted bouquets 
after the matinee

you’re studies in solitude
all alone is where you’d rather be
by now that’s fine by me

OK OK OK
I need a little sunshine



"This is the Closing" (G. Dante)
this is the closing
of our hearts, of our minds
of all we've found yet left behind
of community

this is the closing
of the lights, of hope
of all we thought we'd know
of all we've seen

good night and goodbye

last century's fox
is this century's failure
in the chaos of the final blackout
this show is over

an eternal gnashing of teeth
an absence of god, unamplified screams
return to dreams
this show is over

good night and goodbye

this is the closing
with regret, with spite
ask yourself when we say good night
can you be certain?

this is the closing
eyes are useless, all is blindness
that bitch Time will bring
the fall of the curtain

this is the closing
we gouge our eyes, we blow our minds
we burn out
we can't be switched on all of the time

good night and goodbye



"Ad Frank vs. Neil Diamond" (G. Dante)
babe, I'm in a state
you've been getting in the swing
magnanimosity is a rare thing
when you're starving

crazed, but I'm only one
with whom you get your groove on
put your heartbreaker, haute couture moves on
slave to your demons

I'm the skyline at twilight
waiting for the sun
my patience has grown thin
as the joke I've become

it's just a question of time
three minutes, three thousand miles 
a crowded room, a glance,
and a twist of fate

surrogate valentine
stumbling and running behind
he's on his way
love is always in style
but he's often fashionably late

you're great
but I'm changing states
between pleasure and confusion
New York, LA, and Newton

though my patience has grown thin
as the joke I've become
the song remains the same
with minor variation

it's just a question of time
three minutes, three thousand miles 
a crowded room, a glance,
and a twist of fate

surrogate valentine
stumbling and running behind
he's on his way
love is always in style
but he's often fashionably late

I'm the skyline at twilight
waiting for the sun
my patience has grown thin
as the joke I've become

it's just a question of time
three minutes, three thousand miles 
a crowded room, a glance,
and a twist of fate

here's to hoping I get this right
I've not a clue, but tonight I've got nothing
except nothing to lose

surrogate valentine
fumbling with his charcoal suit and his lilac tie
babe, he's on his way
love is always in style
but he's often fashionably late