My Love for You Is Undying

Though the dead are decomposing
Though my flesh and hair are thinning
Though my eyesight is fading
Though the planet is decaying
Though the haters don't stop hating
Though the Gulf Coast is flooding
Though the news is always troubling
Though the headlines are befuddling
Though our time is disintegrating
Though our days are dissipating
Though my friends keep moving
Though the city keeps on changing
Though the roses are drying
Though the orchid petals are falling
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying

Watching a fight the other night
Valencia Street with you, at the burger joint
A guy from Nebraska against a guy from Namibia
A woman was outside on the curb crying
Two men were consoling her by her side
Two men were consoling her by her side
I walked out and asked if everyone was alright
They said, "We're okay, thank you for asking"
"You too, have a good night"
I went and sang some songs at the chapel
With some interesting other singers
Like Blag Dahlia from the Dwarves and the classy Bob Davenport
When I finished singing my songs
A girl approached me and said, "Hey"
I said, "You look familiar, how do I know you?"
She said, "You don't know me, my name is Vivian
And I really enjoyed your singing"
I said, "Thank you" and I shook her hand
She said, "I listened to your music more than I ever slept"
I had no reply to that, then she nodded to her friend
Then I reached for your hand, then she smiled then she left

Though my hardwood floors are getting creaky
Though an unexpected cat's meow can get me shaking
Though I dehydrate quickly when I'm leaf raking
Though I fall asleep less than I'm waking
Though my guitar tubes are oxidizing
Though with age I'm prioritizing my workload and my socializing
Though it used to be nothing
I'm realizing it's now all getting more tiring
Though Mayweather is retiring
Though my old lamps need rewiring
Though my testosterone is expiring
Though movie directors are no longer calling
My ears were ringing so I went and met you
For a dinner at the Big Four
As we got to walk out the door
A woman said, "Hey mister, you dropped your wallet on the floor"
My jacket hit a glass, it fell to the floor and it crashed
Everybody looked startled as if our names were Jaymes and Bartles
I said, "Hey, it's a tight space, spare me your pity
Coming from your facelifted faces
This could have happened to each and every one of you too"
The waiter hurried over, said "We're gonna have to ask you to leave, sir"
I said "Hey, I was leaving anyhow
That's the last time you're going to see a bad guy like this, that's for sure"
Thank you Antonio Montana, from a prison in Havana
From a boat across the Atlantic to a mansion in Miami
Though these words may need refining
Though I much prefer reclining
Backstage and out front autograph signing
Though I prefer infrequent flying
Though for perfection, I've stopped trying
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying
My love for you is undying

During our long summer staycation
We attended a relative's cremation
Her bereaved husband sat there trembling with his cane
Our hearts were broken
Her picture was so beautiful and so youthful
Everyone was mournful and tearful
Then his grandchildren walked him to the car at the end of the lawn
Flowers were waiting
Though so many there were grieving
There was no doubt and no denying
Of a love undying, of an undying love

Though some may find my specifying agonizing and trying
Long-winded and unsatisfying
Others may find it hypnotizing, comforting, and inspiring
Relatable and consoling
I went to the bookstore the other day
The counter girl was scratching at her hand
She said she thought that it was itching because of all the cash that she'd been handling
I said, "It could be that, or depending on where you've been
It might also be bedbugs"
And she looked at me with surprised and starstruck eyes
She asked, "Are you like the real, like the actual, Mark Kozelek?"
I said, "Yes, I am that man"
She said, "Oh my god, I'm like a really, really big fan"
Then she said, "We should totally go to Panera"
I replied, "There's a Panera Bread in San Francisco?"
She said, "No, there's not a Panera Bread in San Francisco
Even if there was, I'd never meet you there anyhow"
And someone said, "Actually there is a Panera Bread in San Francisco
On Geary and Masonic"
And she said, "Well, I was just kidding anyhow"
And then suddenly there was an awkward silence
At first, I thought she was the nicest
Then suddenly she seemed cold as ISIS
And this didn't sit well on my midlife crisis
Then her boss came over and threw a wet blanket on the good vibes
He said, "Sir, can I ask you, are you even planning to buy a book?"
I said, "Well I was, but this store smells like an old barn full of old Amish musty quilts"
He said, "That will be enough of that language, sir"
I said, "Okay, but I came in here well-intentioned
And that mean-spirited counter girl of yours totally hurt my feelings"
He asked what had she done that I found so demeaning
I said, "She engaged me and then for no reason at all, venomously stung me"
He said, "You might be overanalyzing
That you're exaggerating or bold-faced lying"
I said, "No, I'm not dramatizing, fictionalizing, or even slightly modifying"
He said, "I think your brain may need rewiring"
I said, "I think the two of you are co-conspiring"
Then they laughed and they looked down at their phones
Then I walked out the door and was on my way home
Then as I walked along the road, my mind hypothesizing
What could have went so wrong in this liberal vegan bookstore
Specializing in Charles Bukowski but doesn't carry the new Mike Tyson biography?
Then a sort of happiness overcame me as I began realizing
That for a connection I'll never stop trying
Even if it results in my eyes crying
When I stop caring is when I'm dead inside
My heart was now reviving
My lips were now a-smiling
Then these words I began compiling
And a melody started forming