synesthesia

Sitting in Adam's when he started bumping Summertime, I had to write the first draft a few weeks ago. It all went from there.


I'm synesthetic
when I hear certain things
especially music
I see colors dancing in the air
Katy Perry
I Kissed A Girl, and I Think I Like It
when I hear it
I'm seeing the Great Pyramid of Giza
in flying, speeding wallpaper patterns
colored in bright, vibrant Lisa Frank colors
neon pink, yellow and green unicorn style
I was driving when I first heard it
almost drove off the road
took almost a whole verse
before I realized
it was only a song
I see colors when I hear music
it's beautiful
I wish I could share it with you
Thrice
an alternative thrash band
they have a song
Dont Tell and we Won't Ask
spiraling, looping, speeding guitar
drawing abackground of deep purple
smoke on the water skies
granite verses written in 12-bar canyons
darkly lit
while another guitar dances
a burning pixie
leaving a glowing electric trail of yellow
tangled with the liquid light counterpart
of the singer's voice
scribbled bright green
they do a complex duet
leaping off of the cliffs
to float
dancing fire
through that deep purple dark night
until the white supernova of the chorus
comes crashing in
to bathe you in pure, white hot fire
in that moment
it feels like recognizing one of your own
that is a feeling
I wish I could share with you
synesthesia brings you so much beautiful
sometimes, nothing happens
but when it does
anything everything always beautiful
even, especially, the surprises
Sublime
Summertime
and the livin's easy
it's the colors of Louisiana nights
a purple convertible
slicing down muddy roads
through caves of golden brown stone
and dark green vibrant jungles
melancholy masochistic in the moonlight
blended in dark vinyl palette
flowing liquid in LP
slow funky bass-driven rotation
this is a scene shot in low contrast
like colors dancing
at the edges of an early Nintendo game
and I want to share it with you
because these colors swagger
they move from the hips
this is the mix
that's Buddha and Balboa
grown sexy sittin' confident grinning
Topgun of Tonight Hill
it's feeling male jaguar
just looking for some panther
knowing you'll find it
because broken people will find a way
to smash their jagged edges together
and pretend they make a whole
it's so easy to slip
when you feel like shit, 'cause
my girl spreads her lovin' all over
so you slip
and you slide
jukebox songs cost two quarters
but not the ride
on the riverboat barges
straddling the Mississippi
on this Louisiana night
the Bourbon street bars are closed
but you haven't had a last dance with mary jane
you know the cruise sinful
scandalous and evil
all the people in the dance
are young hungry sexy and hurt
it makes them dangerous and wild
it makes them fun
and Summertime
is not the soundtrack to all this
it is this
in audio video surround cerebral sound
it takes the dark cancerous yellow
the cowardice you feel
when you bury self-pity in false pride
and try to lose yourself deep inside
you say no but you know
you'll hear someone cry
desperate and eager, eager and desperate
there's a twisted power
in that dirty yellow streak
when you're sharing someone with someone
and you don't want to share
but sharing is the only way to keep someone
you've already lost
in the taking the making the pretending
the pregnant green jealous pain
turns a dirty yellow streak of confident cowardice
synesthesia
can make even that beautiful
I wish I could share that with you