Jesse

when Jesse went numb the world went mad
his skin was the only contact he had
no feelings, no senses to touch
sometimes you know it just got to be too much

far away in those LA county days
dangerous companions so aimlessly amazed
imprints of violence on such a gentle soul
and the long time shadow takes its toll

and they say the greatest pain  (X3)
is when you can’t feel anything

Jesse tried to tell it in the language of the day
but the glamour of the spotlight took the meanings all away
hollowed out in syllables, wind swept and raining
everybody said his pain was so very entertaining

and they say the greatest pain  (X3)
is when you can’t feel anything

friends can touch and go and in the places where we meet
we can have an understanding that we think to be complete
a shared communication giving names to all our fears
never knowing what was missing  till the world disappears
till the world disappears, till the world disappears

Jesse disappeared one night as time was closing in
with a demon at his throat and the lights all going dim
he left his hollow body face up to meet the dawn
and by the time they found him he was already gone

people are like landscapes, they are vast and undiscovered
eye to eye a mystery even to each other
some are dry like a desert, some are like a garden to the sea
but the parts that matter most are the parts we never see

and they say the greatest pain  (X3)
is when you can’t feel anything

for Steven Jesse Bernstein