It’s twenty after two in the morning.
I feel like a wet rag, spent like an old hose.
Nothing spit and polished about me
I just lay here in my old gym clothes.
There’s someplace I really should be but find myself unable to go.
Wait, aren’t I the star of the show?
I should prepare myself for the black-tie affair.
What a shame, who’s to blame?
I look dapper in my black and white,
the jacket cut too slim, the pants just a tad too tight.
I think I’m going to shed me a tear
Damn I need to get some sleep!

It’s seventeen after four in the morning.
I stopped counting sheep hours ago and still not a wink.
When the last woolly jumped over the fence, it was number 973.
This whole thing makes no sense to me.
I close my eyes for a second hoping for some sleep,
but the only thing I see is one last roque sheep.
Must be the odd fellow in the herd, who kind’a fell behind
and from whom, just like me, not a word has been heard.

It’s twenty-nine after seven in the morning.
I flip on my iPhone, 43 messages await me.
I know there’s not one kind one, how could there possibly be?
The witching hour is at noon.
I’m supposed to walk down the aisle with my bride,
but I can’t muster the courage, my only option is to hide.
They’ve searched throughout the night.
When I didn’t show up for the pre-wedding dinner,
I must have given them all such a fright.
I love Amy with all my heart and soul.
Can’t help wondering am I the fool?
This is her fifth marriage, but only my first time.
Am I just another in a long line?
From a single man of forty-three, to instant father of seven,
There’s a hell of a lot here to digest!
When she asked me to marry her should I not have said yes?
Only three months in and I’m kissing my freedom and money good bye,
I keep asking myself “Why, why, why?”

​It’s four after eight in the morning.
There’s a knocking on my hotel door.
I think they found me, now what’s in store?
Do I man-up and join the dance, can there really be any romance?
Oh, no! It’s Amy’s brother - big, bad Joe.
I’m either getting married or I’m going to die, this I know!

It’s thirty-seven after twelve in the afternoon.
I just said yes, I’ve sold my soul.
Yes, sold my soul, I guess.
I just married the clan.
I’m now that married man.
I guess I best be working on my exit plan.
I just don’t see myself as THAT MARRIED MAN!

You say you want to run the canyon,
Under the California azure sky between the cliffs,
And granite face, now a mere three-thousand feet high,
I hear it might be fun, it could be I guess,
But honestly, it doesn’t interest me much,
I ‘m just not up for the test.
I just can’t get my head around it,
And can’t you plainly see,
That hiking the cliffs of Colorado,
Isn’t dangerous enough for me?

I’ve seen danger in the mountains,
I’ve seen danger in the air,
I’ve seen danger on the seas,
It’s prevalent everywhere.

You say you want me to swim the channel,
In the shark-infested blue,
You said that it’s one great challenge,
But we can do it together as two.
You held my interest for a short second,
But not a moment more, ‘cause I get sea sick easily,
And there’s just so much more to explore,
And as interesting as it may be,
I’ll take a pass because my interest won’t last,
Because it’s just not dangerous enough for me.
​
You said you want to jump out of an airplane,
With no parachute, and fly like a bird,
And see the world through your eyes,
And soar catching the wind,
Flying around the universe where everything is new,
And not seen, where it’s the beginning and not the end,
But I find no envy in the sky,
God would have given us wings if he wanted us to fly.

Yes, I must admit, as great as it might be,
I’ll just say no ‘Cause I have to go,
Cause it’s just not dangerous enough for me.
I met her at the circus, she had danger in her stare,
It rolled across her face like she really didn’t care,
I really tried to move her with everything I knew,
But nothing seemed to interest her, she had granite in her soul.
I would really like to go there, her embrace could set me free,
But my head and my heart read her as the same,
That she’s way too dangerous for me.

I’ve seen danger in the mountains,
I’ve seen danger in the air,
I’ve seen danger on the seas,
It’s dangerous everywhere.

Now I see clearly, as clearly as I can see,
That I need to break away from her,
‘Cause she’s way too dangerous,
Yes, way too dangerous, yes even for me.

They sat not ten feet away.
Should I go or should I stay?
 
The decision I could not see it clear,
So I ordered a turkey sandwich and a German Pilsner beer.
There was no where I was going, and there might be reason to stay.
I settled in and listened to every word the two girls had to say.
 
I just sat there quietly drinking my beer.
They seemed absorbed, if not totally aware,
 that “the enemy” was hearing their every word.
Their point of view, I felt, was totally absurd.
 
“They’re men what do you expect?
The majority of them are just a train wreck.
They’re stupid, foolish, selfish, and cruel,
They definitely need to be taken to school.”

“Yes, I just started fooling around,
I was pretty active when my boyfriend left town.
I guess I was only fooling myself along the way,
Our relationship failed after a year and a day.
Though I don’t think he’ll care at all,
He’ll be back in the saddle before night fall.”
 
I sprang from my table, like I was propelled from behind,
Ready to give them a piece of my mind.
We are better than who these girls think we are,
From a neanderthal man we have evolved quite far.
I never meant to offend,
I was just trying to defend us, men, being men.
 
I realized too late, I was a fool to butt in,
Especially when the girls were toasting with vodka and gin. 
Their lies, their smirks, their alibis, their rambling about,
It was nothing more than a ladies’ night out.
 
I should have picked up on their tone,
they just wanted to vent and be left alone.
To teach me a lesson, to give me a rise, I became their entertainment.
They were just playing me along, laughing at my lament.
 
“You foolish little man, you haven’t a clue,
My girlfriend’s the mother of three, I’m the mother of two.
 This is our monthly rendezvous,
No men are allowed, especially not you!”
 
“Our husbands are home with the kids.
On what you are thinking, you can just put the lid.
We were just pretending we were just having fun.
If I were you, I’d finish my drink and be done.”
 
I guess I’ve spent too many nights in a hotel room on my own.
Should I just get in my car and head it for home?
And who knows…maybe my wife will throw me a bone,
Worst case scenario, I won’t be alone!

I woke up on the other side of the bed
a peculiar story was unraveling in my head.
I felt different than I had a few hours before
I had a very strange feeling as my feet hit the floor.
What’s different now, what can’t I see?
A turmoil was wresting deep inside of me
and I tried very hard not to let it take hold.
The difference, I would soon learn was you, as you began to unfold.
 
My body was rocking, it was streaming through the day
 I wanted to go right, but you wouldn’t show me the way.
You’re antsy as hell and I tried quickly to review
as you stole my slumber from night and the morning sunshine too.
The fingers on my left hand broke away from the crowd of ten.
With a mind of their own, try as I might, they would no longer hold the pen.
What’s this about, I had no answers other than being blind-sided by it all.
I never saw you coming, you threw a blazing hard ball.
You’re shaking a whole lot more today, more than ever before.
This ain’t no picnic, I’m at bloody war!
 
What did I do to deserve my plight of late?
I either came in too quickly or came in too late;
whatever it was I couldn’t get through the gate.
Surely no one deserves this cruel fate.
We all have our crosses to bear,
and we must not forget those who, our suffering, they share.
The ones who support and care for us every day,
It’s a hell of a task, watching us melt away.
 
There’s 1600 plus cases of Parkinson’s on Boston’s north shore, I’m told.
Here’s 1601, with me now in the fold.
We are shaking and our voices are breaking
every day we deal with unpredictability,
but we fight on as we search for a cure to free you and me.
 
Michael J Fox, a hero to me, he’s the man of the hour
he stands tall and erect; he has superstar power.
For thirty-one years he’s fought the great fight,
he leads us through the darkness giving us hope, showing us the light.
It’s a new day and I continue to dance to your song,
no one else may hear it, it’s no sing along.

You have ravaged my body, and I may seem frail,
this disease has seemingly put us in Parkinson’s jail.
My mind and my spirit you will never take hold
I will live each day to the fullest, I will live my life bold.
While the battle is still being fought,
my life will not be strangled by the Parkinson’s knot.
On you bloody Parkinson’s, I declare full on war!