Don't Flash for Applause

Keep walking by

Keep walking right on by

You don't owe me a glance

and I don't owe you a smile

My dollars turned to pennies

my pennies turned to dust

but I've learned that empty pockets

don't mean an empty trust

I've been down and out before

then rose back up again

not because I'm strong

because the floor got tired of my face

Hard times aren't easy

and anyone who says they're gifts

has never had to choose

between dinner and their rent

Through this lifetime

lessons don't come with a bow

Mistakes wait like old friends

who never learned to knock

Let that sink on in:

you don't grow from the fall

you just learn which bones

you can live without

Green lightning

have you ever seen

green lightning?

Not the sky kind

not the movie kind

the kind that lives in a broke man's spine

Green lightning

flashing

flashing everywhere

but nobody sees it

because nobody's looking down there

I'll sing the blues

go on, pretend you don't know me

turn your nose up, up, up

walk right on by — I've got my own company

I own coins and pennies

mostly pennies, mostly bent

but a bent penny still spends

and a bent man still isn't spent

I've hit rock bottom

so many times I named the rocks “ Desperation” “ Pride” “ The Tuesday I stopped wearing socks”

Rose back up again

but don't call it a win

sometimes getting up is just

annoying the ceiling again

Sad times aren't easy

but they've become my best friend

not because I love them

because they stopped pretending

Green lightning

have you ever seen

green lightning?

It doesn't flash for attention

it flashes because it's alive

Green lightning

flashing

flashing everywhere

in the cracks of the sidewalk

in the stare of a man with no chair

(spoken)

Green lightning is not meant to stay

that's the thing they don't tell you.

It flashes, you see it,

and then it's gone.

And you spend the rest of the night

wondering if it was ever there

or if your eyes just wanted something

that bright

to be real.

Let that sink on in:

resilience is just exhaustion

that forgot to lie down

Green lightning!

have you ever seen

green lightning!?

I HAVE.

I'VE SEEN IT FLASH

FROM THE BOTTOM OF A WELL.

Green lightning

flashing

flashing everywhere

in the eyes of every person

who learned to live on air

GREEN LIGHTNING

GREEN LIGHTNING

mmmmmmmmmm

it flashes once

and then it disappears

but for that one second

you swear you have no fears

Green lightning

green lightning

green lightning

Green lightning is not meant to stay

But neither am I

So keep walking by

Keep walking right on by

I'll be here

Flashing

Briefly

Alive