Ex Lives

I want to be dead with my friends I want to be dead with my friends Wide-eyed, brilliant, dynamic rest I want to be dead with my friends I want to be dead with my friends When the iron sharpens the iron When the iron sharpens the iron When the iron sharpens the iron Sharpens the iron I want to be dead with my friends I want to be dead with my friends A vulgar, loud, unforgettable end I want to be dead with my friends Let boredom cease the beating of our purple hearts Against this, even gods fight violently in vain What chance could we have stood? We're the last of the lost But now we are the first of the fashionably late Loved ones decompose You'll dance around their bones Most of us are wholly ghosts All of us are wholly ghosts Loved ones decompose You'll dance around their bones Most of us are wholly ghosts All of us are wholly ghosts We made the scene when we made a scene And though it was brief, it meant everything Oh, what a pity, now they're bound to make us saints Oh, what a pity, now they're bound to make us saints Against this, even boys fight violently in vain What chance could we have stood? We're the last of the lost But now we're the first of the fashionably late I refuse to be the only man put to rest in a mass grave I refuse to be the only man put to rest in a mass grave I refuse to be the only man put to rest in a mass grave You were all there with me You were all there with me You were all there with me

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

Insect lust or insect love? There's no telling them apart if you're not a bug But from down here I can see the gears The guts of the watches, molecular tiers Now if you're a bug in insect love Then you only do things with other bugs But if it's lust and survival is a must Then the things that you do are to other bugs There are laws built into the nest And this is the crux of it But how do you apply this to the world? We are given too much room To be expected to do only good We are more curious than bold And we were quiet before we went cold (Animal art or animal shit?) Boot legged thoughts or collegiate wit? All looks the same if it ain't holy writ But from up here I can see the gears The guts of the clocks mimic the heavenly spheres Our mathematics and our faith Are just ways of devouring space while we continue to devolve Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law Separate hearts are the whole of the law

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

Old black tusks ripped off of the beast at the bank of the swamp And carved into statues of arthritic gods Or the handles of blunt swords that you'll one day run upon With your eyes covered in moss Shot down in its sleep The big game of the world wide garbage heap You mounted its head on your wall The prize? Hollowed out eyes Mold in the crack of its skull The fur is matted with blood and its tongue wet with mother's milk Gates opened wide and bedlam came Wise men were forced into a layman's trade With nothing but time, chaos reigns A great quiet has followed you to here A blustering wind with nothing of worth in its heart or hands Your legacy is “a dull catalogue of common things" You've never even seen the blood you've drawn Or looked in the eyes of the kill you claim was yours Before taking your picture with it

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

I need a new rock bottom I've got to find a beloved back alley I'm bored as hell in Sodom And Eden is just another dry county The local haunts have been blessed All their spirits dispossessed Even our bed is the second best And the end isn't near, it is now These drugs won't even bring me down I want to dance, but I don't hear a sound You can't fuck when your friends are around But my slow death drew a crowd You can't take two sins off of one ox Pile them on because she won't spare the rod You don't drown faster the deeper you sink So you best make peace and take in the sea Nurse that stray black dog Stay low Keep digging Divine light continued to shine For so long that the battery died And no spark could be seen in my eyes So it waved death down The rapture came and it went While my faith was treading cement I'm hell bound, but I'm heaven sent So I'm lifted back into the ground I've ascended back into the ground Oh, there was whiskey in the devil's blood And there was blood in my cup So I will make me a better grave I will find my own way

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

I'd rather beg your forgiveness Than solicit permission I'd rather know that it broke your heart Than doubt that it will Every time we divide We put zeros under the line And we publish it as our proof That nothingness is divine I can't find a way To grind your heart to a halt It was probably just the wind I don't ruin you like I did I would rather be a jealous man Than an off duty cop I tried to be a babe-in-arms Not a bull in a china shop A sheep in wolf's clothes I'm a hangman without a rope Who am I trying to kid? I don't ruin you like I did When you live your life being scared to death Then you might as well be wounded If you spend your nights being short of breath Then I'll keep these shadows moving If only you could see me now I'll take what I can get Even if it's restraining orders Hold your fire What do you take me for? What do you take me for? Did you think I could garner attention with tact? What do you take me for? What am I trying to prove? What have I done to you? Left at the altar and asked for a bed What did I expect you to do? Give me an audience Black, loveless eyes I have hundreds of costumes But not one disguise Places, everyone (Who am I trying to kid?) Fangs out (I don't ruin you like I did) I'd rather beg your forgiveness Than solicit permission I'd rather know that it broke your heart Than doubt that it will I would rather be a jealous man Than an off duty cop I tried to be a babe-in-arms Not a bull in a china shop I will see you in the dark A castrated stranger with candy hearts

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

At the bottom of the first drink, I found my nerve At the bottom of the next one, I met my girl At the bottom of the third drink, I found a fourth At the bottom of that one was a Trojan horse That carried in demons who brought their brides They tempted darkness where I lost my mind The fifth drink found it and carried it home Where my girl was waiting, one foot out the door Another night spent gathering dust Mug shots of a marble bust Ruination leaves the lantern lit So I know where the good lovin' is I used to be a goddamn saint I said my prayers, and I handled snakes Until the road introduced me to sin I only shook hands with drink, but he had his friends with him I curse the day we raised our glass Up like a bridge to let the devil pass 'Cause he ain't never left this town And only beaten and unborn are living with him now I used to be a holy man "Once put an onion in a beggar's hand" But now I'd rather not believe How could a man I've never met be so cruel to me? At least I'm in good company At least I'm in good company I'll drink to that Oh, I'll drink to that Dash the cup Fifteen years has been long enough Put the child in an unmarked grave And burn the black book page by page Go alone There is your road For once, I'm awake And I will not serve madness For once, I'm awake And I will not serve madness 'Cause I am not the company I keep I am not the company I keep I am not the company I keep I am not the company I keep Dash the cup Fifteen years has been long enough Put the child in an unmarked grave And burn the black book page by page

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

Wherever I go there too shall be grief My love doting on me, tenderly Vacant praise for her hollow man Such poise What loyalty, what elegance Inspired lust in a languid tongue Gave blood and found me where there once was none So I burned the bridge she'd have taken to leave Each one She's all I have left C'est la vie C'est la vie The more it spreads the closer I come Better off behind your back Where we consummate in the presence of none Dead weight don't wait For the violent and the endless stream A spineless yet supporting cast Of the charmless that are harming me From the cradle to the grave It has been a walk of shame What did you think that your absence could bring, old friend? My heart, it bursts with cavities A slur couldn't rouse the sadness I've seen Look close, that beauty is life, she's with me Flaunted indifference is cheap cologne Actor, you speak of me in formal tones To the gutless dogs that have cried mutiny, know this Marooned with grief, I'm richer than kings From the cradle to the grave It has been a walk of shame I am dead, what is one less worm? Seconds off of a prisoner's term This is hell, you brought a candle to burn? I am death and you have marked my words

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

Thanks, Lord But I don't need anymore Poor advice, poor advice Caught in a cannon with a one way ticket Four riders in a town with one horse I wagered a sure thing Against what was behind the first door Stack the chips, let it ride Out of sight, out of mind It's fool proof and it won't do to make safe bets While I'm towing the line Thanks, Lord But I don't need anymore Poor advice, poor advice Thanks, Lord But I don't need anymore Poor advice, poor advice I had a lock on a dirty little secret A raging bull who was fixed to fall down I've been waiting at ringside My whole life But he's still swinging on I've got debts piling high I've got addictions and ex-wives But I've stayed true So I thank you for bearing witness while I waste my fucking life I'm ready to pay the judge To pay the judge To pay the judge Now I need to tip the scale Some sort of bribery I'm not waiting this out I need to pay the judge To pay the judge To pay the judge Now I need to grease a palm Some sort of certainty I'm sick of waiting this out I should have learned a more noble craft Out of the library into the lab Will the machine gunners please step forth? Will the machine gunners please step forth? There's only room on this rescue boat For butchers and bakers and men with hope And will the machine gunners please step forth? Will the machine gunners please step forth? Thanks, Lord But I don't need anymore Poor advice, poor advice Thanks, Lord But I don't need anymore Poor advice, poor advice

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

A proud hush had taken hold and you worshipped at its feet But calm was not long for this world I took up arms and you begged I let it be But reason don't live here no more Step aside, It's not worth your life What is this "peace" that you sneak off to at night? What sacred spot will I be buried in when I have covered every inch of land in terribleness? I have declared a war on the silence before the storm Don't stop to think Just end all good things while you can Ruin all the love that you have or that god damned thing is bound to come back in spades Step aside, it's not worth your life I am the fear that drags you into the light I've covered every inch of land in terribleness By leading a war on the silence before the storm Take the stillness out back and put it on its knees Stop your crying, who do you love anyway? Who do you love? What does he have that I don’t? What could he have that I don’t? What does he have that I don't except you? What does he have that I don’t? What does he have that I don’t? What does he have that I don't except you?

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

The stand-in will suffice, I suppose A tunnel painted on a brick wall And when the crowd arrives in droves They don't question the depth at all I got a weak heart So I've heard I wouldn't know because it hasn't said a word All these winters Not a sound It probably never had a chance to thaw out You don't touch what you want to survive So this distance is keeping me alive Until the ones that have loved me are dead I will hold my breath and pray that my aim is true The meat sits in my blind spot The maze around it is the meal I want The meat sits in my blind spot Hallelujah, got a trophy kill Maybe the flesh will have its day Maybe the meaning will not get in the way God saves every third person But he won't help us if we help ourselves I only marvel at existence in the language existence permits Most hearts make terrible sounds So I laugh An army of images stalks the land in search of ideas I am struck only when I think to step back The stand-in will suffice, I suppose A tunnel painted on a brick wall And when the crowd arrives in droves They don't question the depth at all

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026

No broken hearted people, no crash, no flame No sermon at a casket nor a howl into the grave Every bone was in position, every hair was in its place A light comes A light comes A light comes A light comes Pulled off a dark country road New Roman suicide note All the way, all the way closed So it goes No organs to be salvaged, no teeth to be compared We asked for no police involvement 'Cause we knew you weren't there We threw a birthday party and at the table in your chair A lightness A lightness A lightness A lightness Pulled off a dark country road New Roman suicide note All the way, all the way closed So it goes As long as your name is on my list Or your story written in the choruses Oh, true death couldn't get you But when it's spoken for the last time The weight is lifted, a third eye So I make a vow to forget you As long as your name is on my list Or your story written in the choruses Oh, true death couldn't get you So I make a vow to forget you Oh, I make a vow to forget you Oh, I make a vow to forget you Oh, I make a vow to forget you

Submitted by Infernal Flame — Feb 25, 2026