Not much to say, really. I won’t be recalled back to work until next week or so. It was around one in the morning in a Thursday and I could tell it was one of those nights in which I wouldn’t fall asleep until around four. I figured I would try to write something fun, so I put together a few prompts on a Google Docs file, as usual. The last one of them read, “William Griffin, before he died tragically at age seventeen in October of 2008, wrote a song about his friend Lorenzo, who is a Triceratops with a portal to hell inside his throat. William was also in love with a sixteen years old neighbor of his, a blind girl named Claire and who couldn’t read nor write.”

I don’t recall having to think much, if at all, for that to come out of my fingers. A boy writing a song isn’t fun enough to write about, but it is more fun if there’s a dinosaur involved, and even better if you have a contrasting third character who is also interesting. I ended up writing until seven in the morning, and the following day I ordered the stuff into a somewhat coherent narrative, then uploaded the first two parts. That Friday I also wrote most of the poems that comprised William’s demise. As usual, I was alone and half-delirious, so it came out easy.

I ended up writing a few more poems for both the first and the second parts of this strange tale in three parts, so if you read the first two and liked them, you might want to go over them again.

• Odes To My Triceratops, Pt. 1
• Odes To My Triceratops, Pt. 2
• Odes To My Triceratops, Pt. 3

• Previous part (2)

Once William’s triceratops friend was seen for the last time, William Griffin’s mood plummeted. His neighbor Claire Javernick moved away days later. Riddled with guilt and despair, the texts that William produced during this stage up to his death have remained a source of discussion for years.

I met Lorenzo a long, long time ago.
I bet he is somewhere in the sky.
When he died I put him in the earth,
Buried him in a hole you can’t see.

I met Claire last night.
She was sixteen and she was blind,
She was blind but she could see.
The way she looked at me with those greys,
I was sent straight to hell.

Her house has been empty since then.
She took my warmth with her.
She went down to hell to stay.
She had said it once but said it again:
“Hell yeah.”

‘Hell Yeah’ by William Griffin

The shadows, the black and the grey
Ran down her face so dreadfully.
Every time I looked I saw her tears.
She never agreed to stay the night.

Lorenzo, a giant skeleton,
A living graveyard for the dead.
A door in his throat
Was leading right to hell,
Where there are worms and dinosaurs.

Claire, you can’t escape your fate.
Claire, the sixteen years old girl
With no idea how to read or write.
You’re so small, but in your heart
You’re a fourteen-year-old slut.

I like boys, I like boys,
I like boys, I like boys,
I like boys, I like boys,
I like boys, I like boys,
I like boys, I like boys,
I like boys, I like boys,
I like boys, I like boys,
I like boys, I like boys.

‘Worms and Dinosaurs’ by William Griffin

Lorenzo killed the dinosaurs,
And he’s about to kill your ass
For snorting his drool
Like I’ve seen you do.

He’s been hungry for a while now,
That triceratops.

Fuck you, don’t open the door.
You’ll never find him there,
And you don’t want to see what’s behind.

A door is there.
You’ve got to step inside,
And pray that I’m wrong.

“I love you, Claire,” I’d say.
“I’m so glad that we were born!”
And you would say, “I love you too, Billy.
What are we going to do today?”
“I think we’ll walk the stairs
Up to the last, then maybe
Go for a swim!”

We can’t stop! We can’t stop!

Never stare at the door, I said.
Never stare at the door
When it opens.

‘Lorenzo the Kinslayer’ by William Griffin

Lorenzo was the dino from out of town
That everybody knew for years.
Lorenzo was the dino from out of town,
And he was gonna stay a while.

He didn’t even have a last name.
He would have taken Claire’s.

They made a deal
To see what they were made of.
They ate, they drank and they made love
In good times and in bad.

Lorenzo was the dino from out of town
That everybody knew for years.
Lorenzo was the dino from out of town
And he was gonna stay a while.

Claire was the girl from this town,
The girl from this town,
The girl from this town.
She was supposed to stay.

‘Keep Your Last Name’ by William Griffin

Claire,
You couldn’t write a thing,
Nor read for that matter,
But you must have known
Just by the way my smile felt
In your fingertips
That my love for you was real.

All I could do was walk the streets
And keep you near.

I loved you, Claire,
But now you’re gone.

‘In Your Fingertips’ by William Griffin

Lorenzo died then, in the night.
I was sleeping when he passed away.
I was nowhere near that place, I swear,
Where they said he died.
He was singing a lullaby to me.
I heard beauty in his voice.

I wish I could hear his voice again,
And both our voices would sing together.
I wish it was a real voice that I was hearing,
Instead of a track of white noise.

I wish this voice I hear was him,
Not his part in a symphony orchestra,
That way a dinosaur’s voice breaks,
But only for a second.

Just like the choir song
‘Joy to the World’ from ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’,
I wish I could be hearing and feeling the joy
And singing songs.

And I would love to sing a song
About the day that I kissed her.
Like a cool breeze on a summer’s day,
It would keep on going on.

‘I Know I Can Sing’ by William Griffin

Lorenzo was a friend of mine.
We didn’t always see eye to eye,
But he was a pretty good friend to me.

Until one day that I noticed
That he’d given me his voice
And now his voice is in my head,
Whispering things about stuff he said
And about some things he did.

So maybe I’m doing the same thing.
Maybe I’m doing something bad,
But it feels so good to be the one
Who caused it all to go wrong.

Lorenzo betrayed me by fucking my girl.
Claire, you were sweet as apple pie.
You felt all alone and I couldn’t bear to see
That you never opened your eyes.

‘A Debt’ by William Griffin

Lorenzo was the friend of a girl
Who makes me feel bad,
‘Cause she went and turned her back.
His trunk was like his throat,
Where you could see inside
A portal to hell.

And she thought he was pretty cute,
And back then I believed I was in love,
I embraced a kind of craziness.
I guess I owe it to Lorenzo,
Who held a mirror towards me,
And in there I saw a fool.
It was a friend that made me grow.

‘A Friend Made Me Grow’ by William Griffin

Lorenzo was a big ol’ triceratops,
A sort of prehistoric water buffalo,
With a God-awful nightmare in his throat.
He went on a dangerous journey to hell,
To let the devil back into our town.

So I stabbed the son of a bitch in the neck.
His blood squirted all over the damn place.
I buried the motherfucking bastard.
I thought about Claire, but…

But why should I worry about that bitch?
She thinks she can fuck with triceratopses.
She knew she would have been sorry in the end.
I ain’t putting up with it no more.

Lorenzo didn’t forgive her.
He killed her too, poor Claire,
Or at least I imagined he did
To forget how she stared at me then.

Lorenzo fell in love with her too.
Claire smiled at him so beautifully.
She was a looker, could have caused a war.
To have someone like that to call my wife.

Forget the girl, forget the snake.
I put him in a tomb,
And when the pressure gets too hard,
I’ll open it and let the big bastard out again.

‘You Were the Reason for All of This’ by William Griffin

The words on the page,
They are just too plain.
I can’t read.
I have no clue what anything means.

The man in the sky has sent me a plan
To prove I am insane,
And I can hear the crash of the sky falling down,
Crushing me into ashes.

I can hear the wail of the cries,
But why can I not hear the child of divine creation
Playing with that strange man
Behind the gate?

I don’t have the ears to hear his laugh.
The gate is mine now,
And I don’t know where the hell I am going.

‘Let Me In’ by William Griffin

Your name was Lorenzo,
And it’s time to resurrect.

When I’m awake, I’m in hell.
When I’m asleep, I’m in hell.

Your name was Lorenzo.
You were waiting for a token
To open the portal.

When my mother is crying,
I am smiling, don’t you know?
My mother cries and my father smiles.
My mother cries and my father smiles.
My mother cries and my father smiles.
My mother cries and my father smiles.

How could he had the responsibility
To guard the portal to hell
With a name like Lorenzo?

And in your black hole,
Do you hear the angels’ chorus?

When I am asleep, I’m in hell.
When I’m awake, I’m in hell.

Your name was Lorenzo.
No angel nor animal will help you.
What are you waiting for?

‘Lazarus’ by William Griffin

The bones in his body
Showed through his eyes.
In his throat there was a portal to hell,
But the portal to hell inside his throat
Stopped him from being a giant.
Now he lies as a skeleton
On my pillow.

‘Just a Skeleton’ by William Griffin

I could sing a lullaby to a dinosaur.
I could sing a lullaby to the triceratops
With the portal to hell in his throat.
I could sing a lullaby to my sixteen years old neighbor,
Who used to be there,
And couldn’t read nor write.

Come on my way to play basketball
With the ancient astronauts.
Come on my way to play baseball
With the dinosaurs.
Come on my way to play hockey
With the cyclops.
Come on my way to see the triceratops
With the portal to hell in his throat.

You can kiss my hairy, hairy ass
While I’m playing with the dinosaurs.
I’ll kiss yours,
So kiss mine, if you want to.

‘Lullabies for the Undeserving World’ by William Griffin

All I remember of you is you’d look into my eyes
And you’d ask what I wanted,
And I’d say, “I want to go to heaven.”
You were the Devil’s child,
Filled with this hatred for me.
I could feel it, it was no secret,
I could see it in your eyes and in your rage,
With your tears as well as your laughter.
I could see you were truly evil.
The blood running down the side of your beak,
Your hands full of death. Your wrath was terror.
You took my innocence, you stole my childhood.
You contaminated my heart.

But you are no longer here,
And I’ll see you in hell.

‘Lorenzo Is No More’ by William Griffin

Everybody hates, yeah, everybody hates.
Except for some idiots, yeah, everybody hates.
They hate the heroes, yeah, everybody hates.
Some say “Hate the rich,” yeah, everybody hates.
Sugar and spice and everything nice, yeah, everybody hates.
They hate the geeks, yeah, everybody hates.
All the old people, yeah, everybody hates.
All the kids, yeah, everybody hates.
I hate the whole fucking thing.

The way you must be feeling, baby,
Your daddy was gone too soon,
But I do believe in hell, I do.
In my dreams He tells me all about it.
I hear the angels, how they shout,
And the babies keep on crying,
And the sun is sinking.

Well, I know I’m a little weird, yeah,
But I’m harmless, yeah,
I harbor the beginning of the end,
And I’m not gonna last very long.

‘Everybody Hates’ by William Griffin

I am seventeen years old.
I am an animal and a monster.
I live in a mirror,
And that’s my home.
I will hunt you down
And make you suffer.
I’ll tear your heart apart
And then eat it.

‘I Hope I Die Soon’ by William Griffin

Lorenzo could have stayed
A creature of the Earth,
But the fiery heart that burned within him
Could not be so restrained.
He was twisted like a prison cell,
And tortured by the fears in his head.
He hid in his shell so no one could see
His pain and torment.
He was not meant to be like this,
He was meant to be left alone.
He needed help, but no one could help him;
Who knows how to treat a goddamned dinosaur.
They were all supposed to be dead.

There’s no hope, there’s no hope.
There’s no hope, there’s no hope.
There’s no hope, there’s no hope.

‘Inside His Shell’ by William Griffin

In his secret diary, Lorenzo wrote,
“Griffin, my body is a fortress of reason.”

From the sky full of stars above,
A silver rain pours inside,
Though I’m just seventeen.
Claire’s gone, she’s gone too.

It’s so strange, how could he have
Left a girl who wasn’t finished?
I could have told him, but he’d never listened.
Maybe he’ll listen when I’m finished.

‘Why Haven’t I Died yet?’ by William Griffin

I am locked inside my mind.
I am losing the flow of my thoughts,
And I need someone to save me.

I was taken to a doctor but he wouldn’t help me.
I need a scientist, a shaman or a preacher.
Tell me how to escape this.
Alone and dumb, lying alone in the night.

I am crying and I am crying and I am shaking inside.
I am trembling, I am shaking and I can’t hide my hate.
I am crying, crying, crying, crying and I can’t hide my hate.
I can’t escape this!

Well, yes I can!
I’m gonna die anyway.
I’m gonna die anyway.
I’m gonna die anyway.

‘Panic! Panic! Panic!’ by William Griffin

I am ill, this I know;
My heart is sick and my head rotten.
I’m here on earth today
‘Cause it is Saturday,
And all of a sudden I see it clear:
I see that it is too late.

All of the things I had wanted to do
Would not have made a difference.
Had them once and never again.
I am sick of wanting it to be different.

I’d die to be just where I am,
But in a land of plenty.
There is no fear in this journey.

I would die to be like Lorenzo.
At least I think I would.
Everyone must die,
So why don’t I follow him?

‘Extinct Like You’ by William Griffin

I can’t die a virgin.
I wish I had a pistol;
I’d shoot myself
And die a martyr.

I’m in love with this girl.
Someday she will look at me
The same as I look at her.

I know that my time’s up
And that I’ll die a virgin,
Just like God.

Someday I’ll meet her,
But it won’t be today.
I hope that she’s standing
In a black and white photo
With her hand on her chest,
Waiting to hear me whisper,
“I love you.”

Someday I’ll marry her
And we’ll be together,
And when we’re old
And frail and lonely,
We’ll talk and she’ll say,
“Tell me again.”

“I love you, I love you,
I love you, I love you,
I love you, I love you.”

But I didn’t love her enough.
I’ll die a virgin.

‘Die a Virgin’ by William Griffin

I know where hell’s fire burns,
In a place where everyone goes.
I know the gates are closed,
But who knows for how long.

I feel like hell’s on the inside.
Why was I born to suffer this?
Was I spat here to stand this pain?

I know the path is long,
And that I will die someday.
Hell is all around,
‘Cause I’m stuck, trapped
In a hell with no escape.

Here’s to Lorenzo, who was a triceratops
With a hell portal in his throat.

‘Where Hell’s Fire Burns’ by William Griffin

Hear it on the hilltops of the east,
Those wondrous portals
Opening to a crystal labyrinth
Inside my head.

What then goes into the nothing?
I’ll give you the portals.
They open to a jumbled rose field.
You tell me if it is the cloud of Eden.

A great fiery pillar
Going nowhere and coming from nowhere.
Lorenzo and Claire with Him
As I swing the peephole closed.
Heaven is now on the move.

‘Firefly Bumblebee by William Griffin

Lorenzo sat on the hill of flame
And opened the door to hell.
Two souls escaped with wings of fire,
Both headed out of here.

Someday I’ll make it to that far shore
Where eagles fly on the smell of earth.
I’ll sit and rest in my blue suit.
The memories will blur and fade to the wind.

Lorenzo will sit with his eyes upon me
On the grass ignited with flames,
And as I shove my hand down my throat,
I’ll recall the day he took you from me.

I yearn for my soul to burn,
And your spirit to land upon my hand,
As I wait in the dark.

‘Rest in My Blue Suit’ by William Griffin

Will swallowed a cancer.
His asshole was full of pythons.
He swallowed an earthquake,
And the stars fell to their knees.
He swallowed a goddamn volcano,
And threw up an avalanche.
He swallowed it all
And it almost choked him to death.

In his throat, a dark-red portal to a land
Where damned souls roam free.
Stretching forever, a bridge through time
To the endless void of the Abyss.

In this vast and desolate land of hungry monsters,
He will face His executioner.
Alone Will stands, strapped to a rock.
A vengeful god shoots him with a flamethrower
And burns him alive.

He’s burning like a chicken.
His flesh is sizzling.
Burnt wood, burning steak.
He dies.
Hell burns, hell’s walls collapse.
He dies again,
Once, twice, thrice.

He dies.
It’s over.
He’s dead.

‘William Griffin’s Death Song’ by William Griffin

Lorenzo was a triceratops
With a portal to hell inside his throat.
Claire was a self-righteous fifteen years old
That has never been to school.
She did not want to love me,
Although I did the best I could.

I am a young man, but my fate
Is clear as a blackboard.
Lorenzo was a triceratops
With a portal to hell inside his throat.
I would have been the size of a dinosaur
When I grew up.
I cannot change my past,
Don’t want to heave these mistakes.

And my final words,
Written before my tragic death,
Are:

Well, shit.
I’m seventeen,
And I loved her,
So there’s that.

‘Farewell, My Friends’ by William Griffin

William got no answer from Claire Javernick before he died. Will therefore died a miserable teenage boy. He had a beautiful mom, a wonderful sister, and a step-father who didn’t love him as much as he should have. But in the end William lost his two friends.

Before Claire Javernick died in a car crash on December 14, 2019, she wrote a poem about William, which she never titled.

I was walking in the snow
With a boy named William.
He was my neighbor in our street.
He was born on the 6th of May.
One night he called me crying.
He was only fourteen years old.

I felt scared,
And never so alone.
I looked at the sky for an answer.
His sister took away his songs.
I’ll never forget him,
And I’ll never forget him,
And I’ll never forget him.

Claire also wrote about some tree which is located in a forest in Vermont.

William Griffin died on April 6, 2009. His story remains unfinished, and his lyrics continue to be discussed on William Griffin’s official website, which is run by his sister.

It was a dark night for Triceratops. Nobody around him lightened the mood. As he walked, he found himself surrounded by horrible birds, alive and dead. He was worried about finding a place to sleep, because all the good spots were taken. He also needed to eat if only to fill an emptiness in his throat that he hadn’t felt before.

“Well, what am I to do?” Lorenzo asked for input to the sky.

He disliked when the guy in the sky remained silent. For some reason He thought that He could get away with that.

But then God said to him, “Look at your right side.”

The triceratops looked at his right flank, which had never seemed so red. A warmth was rising from his legs. He felt he was going crazy.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on his side in a field of sleeping sheep, all of them facing the sky and snoring. Everything was getting redder and redder. Then the sound of snoring stopped and even the wind got quiet.

Lorenzo looked around the field until he spotted some people with their bodies covered in red. They were walking towards the group of sleeping sheep, and one of the people was staring at the triceratops. The next thing Lorenzo knew, he was flying along with the group of red men. He soared above the rolling hills, but he wasn’t enjoying it, because he thought he was going to die.

“That’s great,” he thought. “All this redness and pain, just to die by getting covered in sheep crap.”

The more he thought about dying, the more it scared him, because he was quite sure that he would end up in hell. The triceratops cried a little.

Some of the sheep got up and looked at the triceratops and his red eyes, and beautiful red hair, and beautiful red skin.

The triceratops continued flying around and around and around, until he heard the sound of a human voice. It sounded a little like his friend William Griffin, but different. Lorenzo landed on a large rock. The sheep had all gathered around a human being, and they were staring with sad, worried faces.

Lorenzo walked over to the sheep. He wanted to say something, but his throat hurt so bad that he could barely speak, and he knew that if he did speak, it would sound as if he were dying.

Then the human being said, “I have been given the gift of eternal life. I have been given the gift of seeing and experiencing the world. I have been given the gift of being surrounded by living things that love me and care about me.”

The human being lay down, and the sheep started running around him. Then he said, “I was a human once, until I was judged and separated from God, and because I was considered unworthy, I was sent to be in the place of living things, and I am to be around them to teach them about God, and how to become more like God, and live a godly life. And I am to help them find their way back home, back to God. And when they die, they are not supposed to become dead, so that there is no fear of death. They are supposed to be pure and innocent, so that they can face God without fear of condemnation.”

The triceratops became concerned, and he said, “I am a triceratops, and I am innocent and pure, and I have never lived among sheep.” He gave it more thought. “I can understand being around sheep, but living among them? I am not innocent and pure like them, so I will be judged, condemned and sent to hell. How could they be pure and innocent if they are like me?”

And then he remembered what he knew about God, and he felt sorry for the people that they will judge and condemn, because they will have no one to help them when they die. And he thought about his friend, who died young, and who was, like him, judged and condemned and sent to hell. And he thought about his loved one, who can’t read nor write, who is stuck with animals, because no one has ever shown her that she is important to God. And he remembered the times that he would try to tell his friend William Griffin what he was told to teach, and how Lorenzo himself never understood a single thing that he was told to teach. And he realized that no matter what, he had a choice, and that this would never happen again.

“I will choose to love God. I will choose to live among sheep. I will choose to be in the place of living things. And I will choose to help them know God and to live a godly life, and if I fail and I go to hell, I have no problem with that, because I have chosen to love God and live among sheep. And because of the choice I have made, I will never be sent to hell, and because of the choice I have made, I will know eternal life, because I have chosen to love God, and to live among sheep. And because of the choice I have made, I am no longer the same person I was when I started.”

The triceratops started walking away from the group of sheep, and he told himself that he would choose to love God and live among sheep, and he would help them find their way back home, and he would make a place for himself where he would always be with the sheep. And he told himself that when he died, he would be purified, because he had chosen to love God, and he would be given the gift of being around sheep, and he would be purified, because he had chosen to live among sheep.

The group of sheep that had started walking with Triceratops followed him as he made his way back to the place where he and his friend, who had died, had stayed. And the place where he and his friend had stayed was back in the world of the living, the world of beauty and darkness, where there is light and dark, sunshine and shadow.

THE END

• Previous part (1)
• Next part (3)

Claire got a little lonely on the night of September 20th, 2007, when a letter written by her mother on a yellow post-it jumped out of her mailbox onto the lawn, causing Claire to run out of her house without her shoes on. As mentioned, the letter was from her mother, Mary, who had accidentally fallen down a well years ago. However, she was now standing in Claire’s lawn. The girl was the only person that could see her mother. Mary had planned for her daughter to die a slow, painful death. She shot a bullet into Claire’s heart, but the heart was already broken, which caused the bullet to break instead.

Nobody would help Claire, so she decided to get a rifle, a bow and arrows, and a dildo. She ended up having sex with her rifle, then killing a turtle she was hunting with her dildo, after she failed to kill a variety of small animals.

Claire never revealed that the yellow post-it said that her parents would try to join her in Hell. When she read that, she immediately ran back home to get her sledgehammer. She was greeted by her deceased father and mother, who were holding hands. Claire wanted to smash their heads together, but then William knocked on her door. He invited her to come along with the triceratops to a party at their home.

“Plan For a Renegade” by William Griffin

First things first, I wanna talk to you about
Things like war, motherhood, fatherhood, and fatherhood.
Anyway, there’s only a verse about my friend.
See, Lorenzo has a mission that his parents planned:
Gotta shoot a renegade deinonychus, he’s a chupacabra.
Hell’s Gate-a-ray, his parents are sending him down to hell.

“Okay, this is going to sound too crazy.
Hell’s Gate-a-ray, ole-yeter. Uh-unh.”
Lorenzo asks, “What was that, Gramps?”
“Shut up, you son-of-a-gun. Next, I’m tellin’ you the truth,
We’re gonna build a missile out of your heart, ’cause, um,
You, uh, you ain’t, uh, been an angel, but, you know,
You’ll repent and, uh, uh, don’t let the devil tempt you, boy.
An old fart like me, I know.”

“Strings and Gunpowder” by William Griffin

Grab your guitar!
Grab your gun!
Grab your life
And have fun!

Wake up at night and sing a song
Under your friend’s bedroom window.
Hey, Lorenzo! Lorenzo!
Plan to sleep all night long?
(“Shut up, asshole!”)

Yeah! It’s good to be back!
It’s good to be back!
La-la-la-lee
La-la-la-way,
Yay-eh!

Put your fingers on the strings,
Put a bullet in the chamber.
Boom boom boom!
Bang bang bang!
Hit ’em right in the heart!

“Prehistoric Punk” by William Griffin

Lorenzo is one ugly son-of-a-bitch.
His eyeballs are poison green.
With those claws, scales, and horns,
He’s like the truest form of punk.

Lorenzo the triceratops
Carries a tiny soul inside his skull.
That goddamn freak walks around
Like he could topple city blocks.

He’s got the guts of a machine gun,
And a portal to hell inside his throat.

Sing something, Lorenzo!

Rawr, rawr, ra-rawr!
Grr, grr, gr-grawr!
Rooo, rooo, ra-ra-roo!
Rawr, RAWR, RAAAAWR!

“Crap” by William Griffin

This crap is mine, and I am proud.
I’m gonna keep on singing, singing, singing.
I’m gonna keep on singing my crappy song,
And nobody can stop me.

It’s my own little song
That I’ve made myself,
And I’ll sing it any day
If I’m not getting beat up.

I’m gonna keep on singing, singing, singing.
I’m gonna keep on singing my crappy song.
I will sing forever and ever and ever,
Or until the day I die.

“Cruisin’ While Horny” by William Griffin

My friend Lorenzo is a triceratops
With a portal to hell inside his throat.
He would drive around for hours on end,
Trying to find some chicks.
Where did you get that car?
I don’t even have one.

What the hell are you doing, Lorenzo?
What the hell are you doing, Lorenzo?

Every day he’s doing this.
Dude, I’m worried about him.
This whole thing is getting out of hand.
When I told Lorenzo I was scared for him,
He shrugged his shoulders and said, “My bad.”

“Lorenzo 2.0” by William Griffin

Lorenzo the triceratops from space,
Born and raised in a cave.
His parents named him “the Obliterator,”
For that’s what he does best,
But they called him “Lorenzo” for short.

He’s not your average triceratops:
He doesn’t eat plants.
He eats the souls of the dead.

Lorenzo: update version 2.0.
New features include:
More soul-eating capacity.
Greater evil force.
Dark matter bazooka.
Enhanced chupacabras.
Fixes include:
Fixed flaming diarrhea bug.

Dating’s not his strong suit, though.
When Lorenzo dated that allosaurus,
He lost his mind and had to leave.
A relationship doomed from the start.

Lorenzo’s not afraid of anything.
When he heard the allosaurus was after him,
He said, “Bring that bitch over here!
I’ll smash her skull with a crowbar!”

“Father God” by William Griffin

My mom’s the sweetest flower,
But she married a prick.
Mom and stepdad drink together.
The whiskey flows through their veins
While they sing old songs
About suffering and death.

Father God
Looks down upon us.
His teeth are knives.
His heart is cold.
He kicks the poor,
And breaks the sick.
His feet stink,
So does his dick.

Fuck that big asshole up in the sky
Who wants us to love our father,
My dead dad’s replacement,
Who’s so generous with his fists.

Are you proud of what you’ve done?

“Cancer and Virgins” by William Griffin

Our souls are connected
To our bones and our flesh,
But to me Claire could only exist
On the surface.

Lorenzo is half metal
And half stone.
He’s like a newly launched gunship.
On the inside we’re alike:
Cancer and virgins.

But because he is a killer,
Lorenzo is a strange boy.

My sister has an iron fist,
And keeps screaming in envy.
We’re more the same than we are different.

I hate to touch a hand that’s metallic,
She hates to kiss a mouth that’s metal.
But deep down we’re the same:
We are born to murder.

“The Hair on Her Arms” by William Griffin

Claire, I love the way you cry,
And the tears that fill your eyes.

Every time you get close to me, I feel warm.
I dream about the hair on your arms.

You two are my best friends:
Lorenzo and Claire,
A triceratops and a blind girl.
My inspiration for most songs I write.

In these mountains, everything is cold.
What was left behind has turned to dust.
I find myself walking around town in the dark,
Just to know that I’m alive.

* * *

Although the relationship between the trio of friends was becoming strained, Claire and William grew closer to the extent that he eagerly transcribed the poems to which she gave birth.

* * *

“To Old America” by Claire Javernick

This boy can keep me up to date
And help me fix what’s wrong.
I’ll take him to old America.
He’ll show me the way.

This boy can keep me up to date.
His face speaks of new understanding,
And it’s my spirit that he surrounds.
I think I could live in his love.

“Supernova Snack” by William Griffin

If I got hungry in the forest, Claire,
Would ya give me some of your blood?
If I fell in the river and got drenched,
Would ya lick me dry?

You’ve got an ass that could put out the flames
Of a raging forest fire.
(By which I mean your ass is very nice.)

Claire, you’re a fucking snack!
Everything you say makes me hard.
What should I do, girl?
Should I stick my nose in your arm, or what?

The only thing better than dying in battle
Is to get blown up by a meteor,
Or eaten by a carnosaur,
Then get fucked by you.

Claire, if you’re hungry,
Eat my eyes.
If you’re cold,
Light my bones on fire.

The stars will go out,
The planets break apart,
But for now, I’ll be feasting
On my supernova snack.

“Marmalade Sun” by William Griffin

A bird is building a nest in my mind.
Butterflies flutter around in my mouth.
There’s something living in my nose.

(You know those bioluminescent creatures that live in the black depths?
That’s what I have swimming in my guts.)

You and I, my ginger beam,
We were born from dinosaur blood
And that marmalade sun.

My head is round and rounder.
I don’t eat, I live on laughter.
No matter what, we’re going to die,
So we might as well enjoy the ride.

“Eyes Closed” by William Griffin

I’ll never forget the first time we met,
‘Cause something in your eyes
Made me want to try to touch your soul.
It’s such a shame how your eyes are always closed.

There’s a place that’s hidden deep inside your soul,
And if you knew the way to find it,
We could be lost in love forever.

When we find that, then we’ll find what’s within,
And everything that we’re searching for
Will come true like the stars in the sky
And the places on the ground.

“Lorenzo, No” by William Griffin

Lorenzo, no.
I could tell you so many things,
But you’re never gonna hear them.

So go back to your cave
And think on life,
And you’ll find it’s so much better
Than what you think.

“Monster With a Hellmouth” by William Griffin

My friend doesn’t just have a hellmouth:
He also has a monster head
Made of chromium steel.

Whenever Lorenzo sings a song,
He sounds terrifying and murderous.
His hellmouth gushes dark smoke
While all sorts of horrors pour out.
(This does happen a lot.)
He’s a monster with a hellmouth;
I don’t know what to tell you.

Lorenzo ain’t afraid of ghosts or leprechauns.
If you run into him in a dark forest,
He’ll impale you on his horns,
And make a wish with your bones.

He’s also very well endowed:
It looks like a bazooka.
His seed comes out of his mouth
While his bazooka throbs.
(I’m not sure what nature intended
With that reproductive system.)

When I close my eyes, I still see it.

“Hold in There, Lorenzo” by William Griffin

Tumble through the cracks of this shithole town.
A boy and his fucking dinosaur.
You wear your horns like crowns
While I just wear my skin.

I see myself in you tonight, Lorenzo.
You’re out in the sun’s fucking bright light.
Drinking time (fuck yeah).
You’re headed for the bottom.

You’re out there eating your dick.
You’re full of shit,
All fucked-up inside.
Your gonads hold the world in place.
You know we’re all going to die.

“Don’t Wanna Be the One” by William Griffin

Just look at how you’ve changed.
You don’t even look like yourself any more.
Clothes are hanging on you,
Your hair is a mess.
It looks like something’s wrong with you.

Lorenzo.

I don’t wanna be the one
To tell you the truth,
But I think that I should be the one
To tell you the truth.
I don’t like the way you’re acting.
Oh Lord, please help me.
So it’s true what they say.

I love you, and I know you care for me.
Just tell me why you always treat me bad.
I can’t stand you any more,
And I really don’t think that it’s fair.

I don’t like the way you’re acting.
Oh Lord, please help me.
So it’s true what they say.

I don’t wanna be the one
To tell you the truth,
But I think that I should be the one
To tell you the truth.

“Odd Paradox” by William Griffin

We’re losing control.
Somehow I have to make it stop.
As far as I’m concerned,
I’ve got myself a stinker.

I’m obsessed,
And nothing I do
Seems to please him.
He feels that I hate him,
And he’s right, so
Could I really blame him?

It’s an odd paradox.
The world’s a funny place.
I guess he’d prefer
If I was killed
Right here and now.

That seems to me
Extremely ungrateful,
But that’s just the way it is.

“The Same as It Is Now” by William Griffin

Don’t shut the portal to hell,
Don’t close the portal to hell.

Don’t be afraid of what I tell you,
Or you’ll end up down that well.
It will be dark and it will be cold,
And it will be you.

No! It’ll be the same as it is now,
Except with a lot of kids singing songs
About things that go boom.

“Into Hell and Out Again” by William Griffin

You, my friend, will disappear into hell,
So throw away your cigarettes,
Your scarlet lady and your tin box,
‘Cause you have a better life ahead.

It’s just the world we live in:
There’s no one to lead us.
The highway’s packed with assholes,
All of them worse than the last.

Forget the girls who betrayed you,
Every lie that brought you pain.
We should sit back and laugh,
For this life will go away.

You, my friend, will have to cross this stream,
Wading in the water with your arms wide open,
Feeling for each stone with your toes.

Throw away your scarlet lady,
And your cigarettes too.
This fucking world’s a garbage dump,
But not your heart, for that is home.

“Afraid of His Dick” by Claire Javernick

Dude, dude,
Try not fuck with him, ’cause he’s a goddamned
Mammoth triceratops
With a portal to hell inside his throat,
And a dick like a spear.

He won’t let you go, and he will follow you
All the way to the end of your life,
But in the meantime he won’t let you die,
‘Cause he knows a lot of stuff about science.

He wears a shell with a god inside.
I swear, he won’t let me die.
He wants to kiss my vagina,
But he hates the taste of petroleum.
When he bites me,
He comes off as murderous,
But I can never alert the authorities,
‘Cause I can’t read nor write,
And that’s just embarrassing.

Dude, can I tell you something?
If I were to kill him,
You could write about the slaughter,
And then we could kiss,
And drink some wine
And eat some tacos
And watch a movie.

“Cretaceous Razor” by Claire Javernick

Somewhere at the end of the black and blue,
A yellow rose falls from the sky.
Lorenzo’s throat is stuffed with joy and hope.
His heart is a lighthouse in the dark.
His love is a fast-flowing fountain of thought.

It’s a hell of a way to live and love,
It’s the difference between life and death,
To know the feeling of a dino’s claws.
He’ll shred you to the size of a cactus.

Some may find the signs of wisdom.
Lorenzo can’t understand anything from them,
But his warm and kind stories
May make you love life more than death.

A razor from the Cretaceous that cuts the sun.
He’ll make your hat more than seven feet tall.
The curve of his horns is erotic.
He’s an angel in the blackest of hells.

“Girl With a Limp” by William Griffin

Lorenzo’s a dinosaur with a triceratops brain.
If you know his liver, then you know his scrotum.
If you don’t know his liver, then you know his scrotum.
Those balls are hard to miss.

If you asked him where he got his good looks,
He’d say, “A vat of acid.”
If you asked him how to get his abs,
He’d say, “Stick a saw blade in your guts.”
If you asked him where he lives,
He’d say, “Under your bed.”
If you asked him how to find true love,
He’d say, “Open the gates of hell!”

If you asked Lorenzo where he was going,
He’d look at you like you had three heads.
If you told him where he was going,
He’d call you a liar.

Lorenzo would get drunk and fuck my girl.
He kicked her while having sex.

She’s a charming sixteen
Going on twenty-four.
Her eyes are milk,
And she walks with a limp.

“No Entiendo” by William Griffin

His name’s Lorenzo. I think it sounds like a brand.
I was just a kid when I first heard the wailing
That howls out from the depths of his throat.

Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay.
Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay.
Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay.

No entiendo!
Hey, no entiendo.
Yo no entiendo.

Lorenzo takes me by the arm.
“Se llama amor, pero no lo entenderías.”
He runs toward our school with a bomb
That blows up the town and my home.

Necesito una sombrilla.
Hoy es luna de sangre!

“Love Thy Tyrannosaurus” by William Griffin

Tyrannosaurus Rex,
Tyrant lizard king.
He runs with his brothers and sisters
Through the thick jungle brush.
He was born under the shadow
Of a thousand lightning bolts.

Love thy tyrannosaurus,
But keep thy distance:
He will kill thee,
And eat thy guts.

He’s just a vicious dude
In a giant reptile suit,
And we’re one and the same.

“When the Fence is Gone” by William Griffin

The actual lady, Claire,
Is in love with the beast.
She’s trapped in his throat,
Bound by a curse.

We’re the sheep that go out to pasture,
The livestock in a fenced field.
You’re the shepherd of a foolish flock,
Feeding on our blood and souls.

I wish I could pretend
That you never existed,
But now I will pretend
That I care for you.
The day will come
When the fence is gone,
And you will be the one
Left all alone.

Beast of the old ways.

“Hell Is This Way” by William Griffin

Oh Lorenzo, what can I say?
I never liked you when we were kids.
You have a face that’s a million years old.

The portal to hell has swung open.

I am Triceratops, and my wife is Spartacus.
Handsome or ugly, what does it matter?
My wife gives her life away for Triceratops.

Hell is this way.
Hell is this way.
Hell is this way, triceratops.

A world far below this one,
Where darkness never ends.

Your blood’s the best of wines.

“Bitter Bites” by William Griffin

And after all the lies he told,
The rocks he threw at me,
That dino got what he deserved.

I saw tears in his eyes.

He will never betray me again,
That bloody demon.

To satisfy a weird urge,
I cut up some of his flesh,
And ate it.
How sick is that.

“The Devil Inside My Throat” by William Griffin

I met this girl who wouldn’t give a fuck.
One day she led me to her bedroom.
Today I couldn’t look her in the eyes,
Even though she’s only ever seen black.

Her scent is a morning in early fall,
And her voice soft and pleasant,
Like a mother who wouldn’t abandon you,
Or a father who would never hurt you.

It’s all gone.

The devil lives inside my throat.
I hear his chortling every night.
Sometimes he burns my clothes.
He also pees on my bed.

Name’s Lorenzo. I’m a triceratops.
I have a portal inside my throat.
When I open it, smoke comes out
From the bowels of hell.

I see the darkness within me.
I’ve always known it was there.

• Next part (2)

As the boy’s loved ones feared, on April 8, 2009 the Santa Cruz County Coroner ruled the 17-year-old’s death a suicide. His name, William Griffin, didn’t mean anything yet to the public at large.

On April 16, 2009, at the funeral in Watsonville, William Griffin’s parents Lisa and Ken welcomed two strange new visitors to their family’s life: the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog along with his wife Angela. Many have seen this as a sign of fate, but the Griffins did not. And a few days later, on April 21, 2009, William’s mother Lisa was brutally murdered.

William Griffin lived in a rough inner-city suburb in Grand Rapids, MI. When he was ten he got accidentally sucked into a TV during the sitcom called ‘Garfield’. The episode in question featured a new character, the triceratops named Lorenzo (triceratops being a large, sharp-toothed, three-horned dinosaur). William therefore met not only the major characters of the ‘Garfield’ series, but also the aforementioned triceratops named Lorenzo, who would end up exiting the TV along with the boy and being welcomed into his family. Out of respect for William Griffin’s passing, the episode where Lorenzo the triceratops was introduced didn’t air until about a year after William died.

The surviving family wished to leave behind painful memories, but as they hurried to move, they discovered William’s treasure trove of poems and cassette tapes. William’s step-father Ken made them available to the public. It didn’t take long for the lives of not only Will, but also his neighbor Claire Javernick and William’s best friend, the triceratops named Lorenzo, to come into focus as they were featured in documentaries.

The following texts were composed by a fourteen years old William, some as lyrics for his songs, others as simple poems, or both.

“Lorenzo” by William Griffin

He has a small black mouth
Like a bottom.
His skin is brown
Like a beet.
His horns are round
Like a pepperoni pizza.

He’s just twelve.
He’s just eleven.
He’s just my best friend,
My favorite friend.
He’s just twelve.
He’s just eleven.
But he’s also twelve.

His horns are round
Like a pepperoni pizza,
And they grow in the middle,
And they’re as big as cans.
They’re aching for a fight.

Fuck yeah!

“Lemonade and Willies” by William Griffin

Gather ’round and hear my tale
Of horns, scales, and a tail.
My best pal, he’s a damn dinosaur:
A trike, a tricera-you-know.

Lorenzo is so proud and tall.
He walked by me at the school gate.
He pointed at me and said,
“I am a triceratops. I am so cool!”

A ponopodon is what he found inside his throat.
He swallowed it and out came light.
He gave me another ponopodon and said, “Have a bite!”,
But the ponopodon was horrible,
And it bit me,
And gave me the willies.

“Tricera Troubadour” by William Griffin

Hey, how did that tune go?
Oh, yeah…

Doo doo doo doo,
Doo doo doo,
Do dodo, dododo, dododododo,
Doododo,
Duh, duh, duh

I walk behind Lorenzo in the library,
Where he devours dinosaur books
By chewing them up.
“Come here and have a snack!”

Lorenzo has six letters in his name.
He uses Google to translate Chinese,
And sings every song to the tune of…

Doo doo doo doo,
Doo doo doo,
Do dodo, dododo, dododododo,
Doododo,
Duh, duh, duh (rrrOOOOAAARRrr!)

Tri-tri-tricera-troubadour,
Tri-tri-tricera-too,
(duh, duh, duh)
Tri-tri-troubadour.

“If I find one penny on the floor
And my best pal finds two,
I can share it with him
And we’ll have four!”

“Lorenzo, that’s not how math works!”

“Playground of the Prehistoric” by William Griffin

Remember the Stegosaurus, with those plates and spikes?
Can’t forget the velociraptor.
What about the Brachiosaurus? Imagine how tall it was.
Oh, and the mighty T-rex.
They’re still out there, somewhere.

Lorenzo eats clams and lobsters,
Crocodiles and lions.
He’s eating me to bits.
He’s eating me.

We’ll all slide
down his throat
Into the portal
to hell.

Swing, swing, swing away!
Don’t give a damn what other people say!

Swing, swing, swing away!
(In a playground of the prehistoric)
Don’t give a damn what other people say!
(Out there somewhere)
Swing, swing, swing away!
(Dinosaurs still live)
Don’t give a damn what other people say!
(And play hide-and-seek)

“Dinosaur Carnival” by William Griffin

A dinosaur carnival
Is coming to town!
Who is excited?
I am excited!

The merry-go-round spins
On the backs of ankylosauri.
The roller coaster cars are draped
Upon the necks of brontosauri.
There will be duck-hunting booths,
But I don’t think they use rubber targets.
I hear there’ll be an ice cream stand
Serving frogs and slugs.

Lorenzo is the star attraction,
With his tail, horns and scales,
And the portal to hell inside his throat
Which makes his voice extra loud.

The show’s over.
The carnival is done.
But the dinosaurs remain,
And they are ravenous.

“Claire” by William Griffin

In front of my house
There’s a girl
Who can’t see
What I do.
Her hair is fire.
Her eyes are milk.
She’s as blind as the world.

I bet
She would have liked
To see
The stars.

“Tricera Girl” by William Griffin

Hey, Tricera girl!
You don’t seem mean.
What’s your name?
What’s your age?
How come you exist?

Is that a smile?

That’s a nice tail.
That’s a nice ass.
And that’s the nicest head
In all the land.

My, my, my.
Oh, my Tricera girl,
Where have you been?
My Tricera girl,
How about we go together
To the bakery?

I will help you be happy,
I will help you be brave,
I will help you enjoy
Everything you have.

Tricera-trip, tricera-trops,
Tricera-tricks, tricera-triple flips,
Tricera-tope, tricera-topade,
Come dance with me!

Where have
You been
All my
Life?

“Better Dead Than Blind” by William Griffin

My friend’s name is Lorenzo.
He’s a three-headed triceratops
With a portal to hell inside his throat.

When I’d sit around and play,
I’d play my guitar,
And he’d come over and sit down by me
To hear me sing a song.

My neighbor she is a blind girl,
And she can’t read nor write.
We are just like friends.
We’d sit on her front porch and talk.

While I sat on her front porch and talked,
She said her name was Claire,
And she said her daddy and mommy died,
And she said she’d rather be dead than blind.
Then she went into her house.

I said, what was that?
Then she came out and asked me
If I’d like to go home with her.
I said, what the hell?
I said, what was that?
She said her daddy and mommy died.
She went in and closed her door.

I said, what the hell?
I said, what was that?
She said her daddy and mommy died.
She went in and closed her door,
Closed her door.

“I’m Cactus” by William Griffin

My cactus is fed the fuck up
‘Cause it hasn’t had water all week.
Its body is covered with spines,
So I ain’t gonna go near it
And get my hands stuck full o’ pins.

If I were the official supervisor of this plant,
I’d have to resign.

My cactus is green with yellow stripes,
The same color as the planet Saturn,
But the planet Saturn
Ain’t got no spines.

My cactus doesn’t like to complain,
So it keeps its mouth shut tight.
I’m a prick, a prick, a prickly prick,
For not watering that thing.

I got my hand stuck in the cactus again.
Ow, damn it! It hurts so bad!

Ow! Ow! Ow!
Ow! Damn! Fuck!
AAAAWWWW!
I’m bleeding!

“Who Even Knows What Girls Want?” by William Griffin

Who even knows what girls like?
I’m a tricera-dude.
Lorenzo, you’re a dude too.
So I guess we’ll never know.

Who even knows what girls like?
Maybe they like trains or trucks.
Maybe they like rocks.
Maybe they like dirt.
I have a hole in my jeans.
Maybe Claire likes holes.

I asked Lorenzo, “Let’s pretend you’re a girl.”
Lorenzo said, “Hell no.”
I asked, “Why not?”
Lorenzo roared loudly in my ear.
That hurt.

At dinner, I slipped into a nightmare
Where the steak was screaming,
“Who even knows what girls like?!”

Ooh-wee, ooh-wee, la-la-la-lee
Ooh-wee, ooh-wee

Claire, do you like stuffed animals?
“I like stuffed animals. They’re cute.”
Do you like flowers?
“Yes, they remind me there’s beauty in the world.”
Do you like dirt?
“Uh… I don’t.”

Alright then.

“Claire With a C” by William Griffin

Me and my friend Lorenzo left on a motorbike
Toward the woods of the North.
We lived in a house
Filled with all the old books.

Claire (Claire with a C) lives next door.
Lorenzo (who’s a triceratops) with his green eyes,
Purple skin and parrot-red hair.
I’m William, fourteen years old.
I can read and write, I’m terrified of my sister
(We have the same mother, our father is deceased).

Claire (with a C) she can’t read and she can’t write.
I don’t think she knows how to shave.
Lorenzo (who’s a triceratops) takes care of our parents.
Claire (Claire with a C) never comes to our house.
She eats everything in her mama’s pantry.

Lorenzo (who’s a triceratops) drinks blood to eat.
We watch Stephen King movies every Saturday
On our projector screen.

Claire reads scary stories to me,
Or she’s making them up because she can’t read.
I found out Claire is a vampire.
I couldn’t care less.

“Part Goldfish” by William Griffin

She must’ve been part goldfish and part salt lick,
Because she could swallow letters and numbers.
My friends told me they had seen her pet goldfish grow
Just six inches long. It could read and write.
She carried a paperback to school in her backpack.
The letters and numbers had traveled through her mouth.

Other kids wondered why she couldn’t read and write,
Even though her eyes were clearly dead.

She would just say that’s alright to all of her friends,
‘Cause I can read and write. That’s my only friend.

Claire is gone and I miss my beloved friend,
Because she has her eyes open just for me.

“Let Me Eat Your Stuff” by William Griffin

Claire, so beautiful,
With such a sweet smile,
Even at 14.
She’s in love with me.
We spend every minute
Like lovers do.
She takes me to a place
Where no one can see us.

I saw her first!
It was last Thursday
In my backyard,
When I was doing chores,
And I saw my friend Claire,
For she was standing there.
She was so beautiful.
Such a beautiful smile,
And I just couldn’t resist.

She made me this toast
With strawberry jam and butter,
And made me some cookies too,
The sweetest I’ve ever had.

I ate all of her food,
Even her share.
I watched as her eyes
Lit up like a candle.

“Fairy Tale Too Real to Be” by William Griffin

Claire is Claire is Claire.
She walks and talks and wears a dress.
Claire’s a fourteen years old
Fairy tale too real to be.

Lorenzo is Lorenzo is Lorenzo,
With a portal to hell inside his throat.
Lorenzo is the Devil’s spawn,
Is the beast that does not eat.

It’s hard to describe Lorenzo.
What a stunning day that was,
The day Lorenzo came to us,
Came to us from God above.

Lorenzo is sweet and sappy,
Has a voice that chimes like the bells.
Lorenzo’s tongue is sweet like honey.
Lorenzo lives on old tobacco leaves.

“Eat Your Friends” by William Griffin

Those dinos from the ancient past,
They’re extinct
They’re dead.

Long gone, oh, oh, oh.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.

How much would it hurt
If both of them left me behind?
Lorenzo could fall into a tar pit,
Claire end up frozen in ice.

Eat your friends, don’t you wait.
Chew through the skin,
Chew through the hair.
Don’t let the chance escape.

Hold onto your friends
With teeth and nails.

“I Am Your Stegosaur” by William Griffin

I am a stegosaur and so is you.
A piece of me in every creature,
Like you and him and all the people.
We all have a heartbeat
And a soul inside.

We like you, Claire.
And since we’re here we may as well be glad
And say a prayer, for just because you’re blind,
You don’t have to be stuck in a place
Where there’s nothing to see.

There’s lots of beautiful things in the world,
Lots of beautiful people.
You’re one of them.

When the sun comes out,
The grass shakes off its dander.
When it rains, the clouds roll in and out.
The mountains and the rivers,
The sky and the earth,
The stars and the planets,
One big beautiful living organism.

Beauty never dies.
We will never see each other die.

The color’s gone from your eyes,
But not from your heart.

“For Claire, Who Can’t Read” by William Griffin

You know, you’re the special one,
The one who took a gander.
You’re a girl that’s cute,
And you’re the love of my life.

She’s just fourteen years old,
And the words we write together,
That I write I mean,
Because she can’t read,
Are nothing but lies.

She’s seen the future,
And the past is past.
I said to her, “Don’t forget your roots,”
Because I learned you gotta grow.
So you ain’t no bigger than a matchstick,
But you still got your roots.

A girl, she’s got a good heart.
She’s just fourteen years old,
And the words we write together,
That I write I mean,
Because she can’t read,
Are nothing but lies.

You know you’re the special one,
The one who took a gander.
You’re a girl that’s cute,
And you’re the love of my life.

She’s just fourteen years old,
And the words we write together,
That I write I mean,
Because she can’t read,
Are nothing but lies.

And we only make each other up.
Never gonna be the truth.
So you know that you’re the special one,
The one who took a gander,
You’re the love of my life.

“Ceratopsy” by William Griffin

Ceratopsy, ceratopsy.
(Horns, horns!)
Claire, Claire.
(She’s got horns!)

I love my little Ceratopsian.
Time for a ceratopsy!

In my heart, I want to eat her.
I will eat her hands, her feet,
Her ears, her hair, her skin,
And those boobs like little moons.

I will swallow her
And keep her
Forever safe
Inside me.

Yeah, uh, um, okay, so, I’m a boy,
And I like you, and you’re a, um…
You have, er, eyes, and you’re blind,
Uh, and, um, and Lorenzo’s a dinosaur,
And y’know, um, you’re very pretty…

Ceratopsis spreads inside me,
Eating me, eating me, eating me.

“Ponopodon Blues” by William Griffin

Lorenzo can light cigarettes
With the fire from his throat.
He went through every stage in hell.
The devil became his buddy and said,
“You have suffered enough.”
Then returned Lorenzo to Earth
With ponopodons in his throat.

Alarm (alarm)
Callers (callers)

What the fuck am I even doing.
As if these songs of mine
Would ever go anywhere,
No matter how hard I try.
Get on a stage in that outside world?
I don’t even want to know what’s out there!

I’ve got the Ponopodon Blues.
I’ve got the Ponopodon Blues (what can I do?).
Oh baby, I’ve got the Ponopodon Blues,
For loving too hard.
There’s also a nasty ponopodon stench
Coming from my pants.

I don’t give a fuck, no sirree!
Can’t give a fuck anymore.

Just let the shit pour out.
Give me a bucket.

“No Magic Potion” by William Griffin

Triceratops, I love you more than anything
(But I’m the only one who sees your white behind).
All the girls adore you,
And they want to touch you.

Claire, if you want to, you can have me,
For I’m not ashamed.
I hope you’re not ashamed.

Triceratops, there’s no magic potion
To chase off
Those lonely feelings.

Claire, there’s no such thing as eternal bliss
Or a hell of aces,
Only eternal regrets.

“Wait About a Month for Love” by William Griffin

It’s not like my heart has ever been full,
In all my life,
Until I met your two eyes.
It’s a matter of fact that I’d like to have you,
And that I’d take any length of time,
I’d take it all if it means,
I can lay my head on your breasts.

But what would I think, if you should tell me
That you’d prefer if I didn’t come at all.
Can I tell you how scared I was, how scared I’ve been,
Every time I thought about you.
My step-father told me don’t play around,
Go for what’s worth having.
He said when a man has a real woman,
He’s got to wait a while.
He said it was about a month.

I asked my step-father, what do I owe to you.
He said the man who says I ought to settle for I love you
Is the man who can’t make me quit.
I asked my step-father, what am I missing.
He said, there is a place where the most evil men are,
And they just laugh at us down here on earth.

And what’s going on in heaven, I don’t know.

“Helpless and Pure” by William Griffin

Claire’s a girl so helpless.
Claire is blind.
Claire’s a girl so pure.
Claire is blind.

This love won’t end in pain.

“Please, Play With My Guitar” by William Griffin

Claire’s really a sweetheart,
As pretty as a picture.
She just doesn’t wanna get wet,
But wait and see.

She’s a human,
But what’s behind
That painted
Fake face.

If Claire had eyes,
She would look into mine.
I’d let her see.

I’ll teach her to read and write,
I’ll teach her how to play,
With my guitar.

This is from William’s diary:

So I look at Lorenzo and I’m just mad ’cause he’s gross. All I know is that he has the Mark of the Beast inside his throat. When he laughs it’s rancid and crumbly and when he cries it’s just creepy. Lorenzo’s ugly and he makes me afraid. When he’s with me, he uses his fist as a piano. I try to pretend that I don’t care when he stares at me like that. Deep down inside, I wish that he would leave me alone, but every day when I look up, he’s there. Lorenzo is worse than a dog, because he can think as well as show his affection. Now he leaves pictures on my pillow every morning.

“The Burning Heart Inside Your Throat” by William Griffin

We’d go underground in a coffin,
Dressed all in black.
We would hug and kiss the stars
With our heads in a casket,
And in her worst dreams
We would dance in the dark.

Lorenzo wears a Jesus apron.
Claire’s belly button is her heart.
Now he’s missing his eye.
My fault.

Ah ah ah ah ah ah.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah.

I’m shaking off the free rays of dying stars.
I am trembling at the breath
Of the burning heart
That’s inside your throat.

Like time, like the cosmos,
This eternity with a physical body
Will one day become a tear
In the eyes of the deepest heart.

I know you’re in my head,
I know you are alive.
I’m shaking off the free rays of dying stars.
I am trembling at the breath
Of the burning heart
That’s inside your throat.

Oh aah, hey aah aah.
Hey aah, aah, aah, hey aah.
Oh aah, hey aah aah.
Hey aah, aah, aah, hey aah.

We’d go underground in a coffin,
Dressed all in black.
We would hug and kiss the stars
With our heads in a casket,
And in her worst dreams
We would dance in the dark.

Oh.

I know you’re in my head.
I know you are alive.
I’m shaking off the free rays of dying stars.
I am trembling at the breath
Of the burning heart
That’s inside your throat.