Author Archives: Daniel Banks

whatever’s next

Posted on by under Faith, Love

he found her from the footprints in the snow
she ran away but she had nowhere to go
and no lie could be a fitting mask
one look and he didn’t have to ask

with an arm around her shoulder he stayed there
in the silence she knew that he cared
she cried until the tears froze to her cheek
he wiped her face and found the voice to speak

he said “i don’t know what you’ve been through
but whatever’s next i’ll go with you”

she wished she’d never heard his words before
but they’re often said by guys trying to score
everyone who’s held her has told her to lie down
and look for love in between sheets
(where it cannot be found)

but something in his voice closed her eyes
and she hoped for once love wasn’t telling lies
she leaned in to kiss him thinking that would make him stay
he put a finger to her lips and again she heard him say

i don’t know what you’ve been through
but whatever’s next i’ll go with you

if we kissed

Posted on by under Girls, Love, Sad

if we kissed would you slap my face?
would a kiss be out of place?
if i loved you and told you so
would you fold your arms and tell me no
like a parent with a little boy
pointing to an expensive toy
would you tell me “surely someone else”
“just leave this one up on the shelf”
i’m sure that’s what you’d say
so i’ll shove love out of the way
and trip and fall and crawl along
i’ll hum off-key an old love song
and forever i will pretend
i am nothing but a friend

strobe lights

Posted on by under Girls, Sad

storms like strobe lights
slide through a valentine sky
every girl i can think of
has a hand upon her thigh
a man to make her happy
at least a reason not to cry
hold the kiss in through the door
stop to laugh while fingers try
to work their dresses to the floor
breathe deep then close their eyes
each girl i can’t let go of
bites her lip and blushes shy
she lays down with her lover
and he shows her how to fly

addict

Posted on by under Getting Over It, Girls

if i speak all i speak is a lie
i guess all the skeptics were right
can’t believe how hard i have to try
to keep from calling her tonight

i have excuses, i call them fair
a list of reasons i should dial
but of course she’s never there
a distance not measured in miles

if i was sure she was a mistake
the habit’s not so hard to break
if i was sure, then i could quit
and spend forever missing it

the problem with hope

Posted on by under Girls, Hope, Sad

i must explain what i can’t ignore
a love that i’ve always apologized for
hope’s in the corner with her fingers crossed
wisdom tells her to get lost
but every night she speaks to me
i used to memorize her stories
like closed eyes over a cake candle wish
like those moments i thought i would cherish
they stalk me like a panther in the trees
waiting until i’m weak in the knees
and when emotion is dry and fake
i wonder what else will it take
for hope to get the hints i drop
but it seems she will never stop
whispering in my ear
words i’ll always want to hear
so the problem with hope, i believe
is she will never leave

dan

Posted on by under Getting Over It, Girls

dan is a boy with a broken heart
a girl that he loved wouldn’t requite
dan would be offended to hear
the story told so black and white

dan is afraid that he’s normal
for this is the first time he’s tried
people feel this every day
but that fact dan denies

he thinks he is original
like pain is patent pending
dan is boy who still believes
in happy endings

sometimes

Posted on by under Getting Over It, Girls, Sad

sometimes it sounds like silence
not many words could be as cruel
sometimes it sounds like a siren
or smells like jet engine fuel

sometimes it stings like an open wound
sometimes it’s a numb touch
sometimes it gets more than it’s earned
sometimes it takes too much

and it can seem like a new creation
most of the time it blurs like tears
but there are a rumored few
who have seen it disappear

sometimes it tastes like our own words
at the time we swore we were right
if we are aware of its existence
it will keep us up at night

sometimes it’s celebrated
sometimes it’s stopped with a lie
and eventually most will forget
that it ever was Goodbye

what man

Posted on by under Faith, Girls, Hope, Love

what man would fight an army
what man would stand alone
hearing the predictions
facing unbeatable foes

but love, now here i stand
drawing shallow breath
outnumbered by the hopeless
facing certain death

i refuse to say i’m sorry
of love i’m not ashamed
i do not fear the falling
when i speak your name

to keep this somehow special
is this just a common tale
of a boy who pledged his heart
and eventually he fails

the enemy is moving in
what makes me think dreams come true
all the evidence i need
i find in you

used to dream

Posted on by under Getting Over It, Sad

i used to dream that she would notice
the deep down man i thought i was
people say they put personality first
but no one really does

i used to dream that she would find
a trace of my heart, warm from the fire
and she’d press it to her cool cheek
i dreamt i made her feel desired

i used to dream that she would need me
she’d run to me and hide from her day
i’d comfort her and fight her battles
i dreamt i scared all her monsters away

i used to dream that i made her feel better
that she searched my eyes for my thought
and when i’d sigh she’d beg for a story
i dreamt things were what they were not

now i dream only that i make her feel
for i can’t tell hello from goodbye
cold as ice, blamelessly nice
i dream i can make her cry

easy riddles

Posted on by under Getting Over It, Girls, Sad

there are 360 ways to tell our story
but they all end up with ‘goodbye’
look at it from every angle
sort out the truth from your lies

i am bitter and i’m sorry
for whatever part i played
love can seem so real
though only a charade

you are blind when i am pointing
deaf whenever i call
you are gone when i am lonely
you can fly, i only fall

i hide my heart in easy riddles
but you never saw the truth
you had an answer for hard questions
but words are never proof

i put my feelings in the window
then i left them on the lawn
i kept hoping you would see them
but you just kept moving on

so i tell them you were careless
you don’t care what i may say
it’s my side of the story
you aren’t listening anyway