Tag: short story

Covers of “Tricera Girl” from Odes to My Triceratops, Vol. 1

On By Jon UreñaIn Arte, Inteligencia artificial, MúsicaLeave a comment

A couple of weeks ago or so, I uploaded a YouTube video that contained four covers of this song, from the middle-school period of William Griffin’s life. He’s the protagonist of the Odes to My Triceratops song cycle. But I found issues with the audio quality, caused by a faulty pipeline. Although that’s now fixed, I’ve needed to fix the songs involved, and I also created two more for good measure, so the new video has six covers.

“Tricera Girl” is one of my favorite songs of the first album. It embodies very well the wonder and desire of an early teenager who realizes he’s found the love of his life and doesn’t quite know how to handle it.

William Griffin (Poetry)

On By Jon UreñaIn Arte, EscrituraLeave a comment

Driving through a desert town,
I pass a roadside bar.
Board out front: “Open mic night.”
I pull over, grab my guitar.

Handful of locals at the tables.
Young couple at the counter.
Stage in the corner, a list the host holds.
I give my name when asked.

Wooden stool under one light,
Microphone in front of me.

I made these songs for you,
So you can sing along
From deep down somewhere
In a dark room.

A burning heart inside your throat.
Bold and brave like a triceratops.

The last chord rings.
Warm light on my face,
My hands still on the strings.
People talk, glasses clink.
I don’t know what they think,
And I don’t look up.

Up the mountain in that old garage,
Gasoline smell, rust and decay,
Where the valley ran to the edge of sight,
Two people heard me play.

Some say we’re here for a reason,
And yours is clear to see:
A bird like you was born to sing.

THE END

The Other End (Poetry)

On By Jon UreñaIn Arte, EscrituraLeave a comment

The cornfields ran out.
The land turned to dry scrub and stones.
I pull off the road, get out.
Cacti stand over me in the dark.

I open the guitar case.
The wood’s scarred, the strings rusted.
I don’t touch it. Don’t play.
Let the guitar breathe.

Engine’s ticking as it cools.
Dirt’s cold, pebbles dig into my back.

Moon’s a sliver of bone.
The sky a dome of stars.
Myriad points of light,
Cold eyes in the dark.

Some junkie.
That’s what I am.

I reach for the nightmares
That used to be my friends.
Red hair in the dirt,
Your corpse, your bones.
I put you there.
They won’t come.

Rope tied to my chest.
Nothing on the other end.
I dig my fingers in,
Hold on to stones.

Our houses. The space between.
That day I saw you first.
We walked around together.
Bought you cupcakes at the bakery.

I would help you be happy.
I would help you be brave.
I would help you enjoy everything
You were afraid to touch.

I wanted to eat you
So you couldn’t leave.

Tell Me How the Sun Sets (Poetry)

On By Jon UreñaIn Arte, EscrituraLeave a comment

Mowed lawns, blooming flowers,
Spinning sprinklers, hoops over garages.
Shiny cars that start on the first try.
I saw you in every window I passed.

Guitar on my back.
I slept in the car.
Ate cheap at diners.
Walked the streets, alleys, parks.

Families with strollers, kids on bikes.
They shot me looks as they went by.
I’m a rat, a plague carrier.
Vermin that should be removed.

I’d been asking strangers for days.
I’m looking for a blind girl with red hair.
Name’s Claire, last name Javernick.
There couldn’t be more than one.

You used to live next door.
We’d sit on your front porch and talk.
You’d ask me how the flowers looked.
Said you’d rather be dead than blind.

I didn’t deserve to see you again.
I had no right to ask you anything.
I should have left you alone
And let you live your life.

Sun was going down behind the houses.
Kids played on the park swings.
I had leaned over a fountain to wash my face
When I heard you sing.

Red hair spread over the green.
A woman lying on a blanket.
A child climbed over her,
Tugging at her clothes, laughing.

Fiery-red hair in the fading light.
Milky-white eyes.
Older, fuller, stronger.
A cane beside her on the grass.
Making up the words as she sang
About squirrels and butterflies.

You survived long enough
To become a woman I don’t know.

A man hurried over, put himself between.
He asked me what I was doing.
“Hey. Back off.”
She sat up, turned to the sound.
“Who is it?”
“Don’t know. Some junkie.”

I turned around and ran.

I Know Where You Are (Poetry)

On By Jon UreñaIn Arte, EscrituraLeave a comment

My phone keeps buzzing on the passenger seat,
Eager to yell at me for failing to show up.
The men at work, they never knew who I was,
Or that I won’t be coming back.

I woke up in some dark room
Full of trash, bottles, cigarette butts.
Dunno how I got there, whose bed it was.
Didn’t see a clock, couldn’t tell the time.
My head throbbed, my stomach burned.
Had to piss like a racehorse.
What did I swallow? Who did I fuck?
Who the hell was I?

My hands are trembling on the wheel,
My breath fogging the cold glass.
This rusting, sputtering wreck of a car
Always takes three turns to start.

A voicemail from my mother.
She got sober enough to recall
That “the Javernick girl” had called
Two or three years ago
To find out if I was alive.
Now I know where you are,
Or where you were the last time
You gave my mother your name.

I grabbed the guitar and ran
With nothing but the clothes on my back,
That stink of sweat and smoke and sex.
Left everything else behind.

Driving through the endless night.
The road’s empty, the sky black.
No stars, no moon, no signs.
Nothing but the white line.

A phantom smell of old gasoline
From the yard up the mountains.
On the porch next door to mine,
Your face, your fire hair, your milk eyes.

Locked in my room for a year,
Then vanished like a ghost.
You wanted to know if I was alive,
And I was already gone.

The sun comes up like a sore.
My skin’s clammy, my tongue thick.
I roll the window down,
Stick my head out into the wind.

Pull over at a gas station, fill the tank.
Beard’s a mess. Eyes bloodshot.
I need to wash, need to eat,
Need to sleep, but can’t stop.
Buy coffee, aspirin, cigarettes.
Clerk looks at me like I’m a threat.

My teeth hurt, my jaw clenches.
Bugs crawl under my skin.

I put a knife in Lorenzo’s neck.
Buried his body in the woods.
I told you he must have gone,
And you knew it was a lie.

Driving through flatlands, cornfields,
Under a sky too big to grasp.
No mountains, no trees, no landmarks.
Just road and road and endless road.

Car’s making a weird noise.
Smoke’s coming from the hood.
Heat rises, burns my face.
I don’t know how to fix this.

No one around.
No help in sight.
Just me and you,
And this guitar.

I used to be dead.
Now I know where you are.

Bury My Balls and Burn My Body (Poetry)

On By Jon UreñaIn Arte, EscrituraLeave a comment

The sky has opened, the seas are raging,
The moon is shattered, the sun has died.
But here I am, and here I’ll stay,
Until the last of the fires fade away.

Tail of a crocodile, feet of a dragon,
Face of a demon, heart of a murderer.
Teeth sharp and jagged,
Night-eyes glowing green.
I’ve forgotten the taste of love.
My only pleasure’s in the kill.

Rex the Wrecker, oh, he’s the shit down the hatch.
The fiend of the tow truck and wrecking ball.
A legend in this town, a king without a crown.
He lived hard, fucked hard, died hard.
Left a trail of blood, tears, and cum.
“Fuck you all, I don’t wanna be buried.
Bury my balls, that’s all,
Then burn my body.”

Rex fucked a cactus, snorted gunpowder.
He tore himself a new hole just to piss off his mother.
Ripped a thousand girls’ cherries by accident,
Knocked them up like bowling pins.
The only one who ain’t furious with him is me,
‘Cause I’m the one who put him in the ground.
But I’m also the one who can’t wait to see
When he wakes up and comes back around.

You know who I am, what I’m made of.
I can make it rain diamonds or gold,
Or burn everything to the ground.
I’m the monster in the closet,
The beast in your bed.
I’m the devil in your head
Telling you to kill yourself.
No mercy, no pity, no love.
I’m a cold hard machine
With a heart of stone.

I’m where the garbage trucks roll,
The junkies shoot, the hookers stroll.
Where the blood spills, the sirens wail,
The neon burns, the rats crawl.
I’m the one who owns this shithole,
Every alley, every bar.
Every street corner, every gutter,
Every motel, every car.
You’re a visitor, a trespasser;
Don’t pretend that you belong.
Drinking, smoking, fighting, fucking;
I’ll be here after you’re gone.

Fear me, hate me.
Try to stop me if you dare.
You can’t kill me, you can’t hurt me.
Can’t even touch me anywhere.
I’m the alpha and the omega,
The beginning and the end.
There’s no such thing as God,
Unless you count me.

I’m the one who’ll bury your balls
And burn your body when you’re dead.
Until then, fuck you all, fuck this world.
I’ll have some fun before it ends.

Suno demo (not remotely final version):

Daniel (Poetry)

On By Jon UreñaIn Arte, EscrituraLeave a comment

She lives on the third floor.
Her key’s on a chain with a skull.
She threw her coat on a chair.
Cozy place full of stuff I’d never seen.

Leafy plants in pots, blooming flowers.
Records and books on the shelves.
Magazines, sketches, photos
Of people I don’t know
Who smile in her life.
A cat ran past my feet.

She moved here from Sweden three years ago.
Works at a library, sorts books.
Plays guitar in a band with her friends.
Likes to travel, but she’s scared of flying.
Parents still there, call her every week.
She said she loves them but she had to leave.

Smart, funny, pretty, foreign.
Unlike anyone I’d ever been with.
She knows her own mind, has her own plans.
She doesn’t need me for anything.

She put her hand on my thigh.
I ran my fingers through her hair.
Her lips were soft, her tongue sweet.
I played around with her tits.

Red bra, lace panties, socks with stripes.
She kissed me down my neck and chest.
Candles on the nightstand, dim light.
Smelled like flowers and clean sheets.

Her skin was smooth and warm,
Her breath hot and fast.
We made love on her bed
Like it meant something.

She held me afterwards,
Her arm around my chest.
I felt her heart beating.
“You can stay if you want, Daniel.”
Insects crawled on my skin.
I tossed her arm off me.
“Get the fuck away,
You trashy bitch.”

I fumbled for my clothes,
Did my belt on the stairs.
No sound followed me down
But her calling that name again.

The Greatest Song I Can’t Remember (Poetry)

On By Jon UreñaIn Arte, EscrituraLeave a comment

Yesterday I listened to the greatest song.
It sounds like bullshit, but it’s true.
So good, it made me cry.
So good, I wanted to die.

This tiny venue downtown,
Kind of place where the walls sweat
And the floors stick to your shoes.
Place was packed full of hipsters and weirdos
Drinking cheap beer, smoking shitty weed.
I was so high, I could hardly see.
I had walked in alone, feeling like shit,
Looking for a distraction, looking for a fix.

The lights dimmed, the crowd hushed.
Then three dudes walked onto the stage,
Dressed in black suits and ties.
They looked like gangsters from a movie.

I can’t remember what the hell they played.
I can’t remember a single word they sang.
I remember the feeling of being lifted,
Of being free and alive.

There’s a girl in every bar,
And a bar on every street.
There’s a song in every heart,
But mine’s stuck on repeat.

I was a kid, I had a dream.
I wanted to make music that mattered.
But life happened, shit happened.
I lost my way, lost my friends,
Lost my love, lost myself.
Now I just work and drink and fuck,
And write crap songs no one hears.
What’s the point? Who cares?
But last night, for a while,
I felt that old spark again.

This chick, tall and blonde, Nordic type,
She swayed to the music with her eyes closed,
She sang along to the words I didn’t know.
Those tits were out of this world.

I met her outside after the show.
A chick from Sweden who speaks English
With a cute accent and a wicked smile.
She asked me what I thought of the band.
I told her they were the best thing I’d ever heard.
She laughed, said she felt the same.

I drove her to a diner, got us burgers.
We looked at each other like it meant something.
She said my eyes are like the moon, cold and dead.
She asked me if I was okay, I said I was fine.
I asked if she wanted to fuck, she said not tonight.
I guess it was the worst date she’s had in a while.

I drove her back to her place.
She kissed me on the cheek, said thanks.
Said she wanted to see me again.
I went yeah, sure, why not.

So beautiful, it made me cry.
So powerful, it made me hard.
So amazing, it made me forget
Who I was, where I was, what I was.
I can’t hum a single note,
I can’t recall a single chord.
It’s gone like it never happened,
Like I dreamed it all.