These men with voices like whiskey
are going to be the death of me.
No one can see it, but I’m poisoned.
Every morning, I take my meds,
and as the pills travel down my throat,
I wonder if this is the only antidote.
When I sit alone in my bed,
pondering my own crippling thoughts,
the poison makes me ill.
Will I ever get this out of my system? I ask.
It lingers through my body—
from my head, deep in my brain,
to my stomach, where I get nauseous
at the thought of my own mental toxins.
Although I didn’t consume something deadly to make me sick,
the poison in my prefrontal cortex
might just be the death of me.
When I walk into a room, no one sees
that every step I take is intense pain.
For now, I’ll go to sleep with this poison
eating at my life
and hope that it doesn’t kill me.
I’m poisoned mentally,
but not physically.
Bury me deep
Bury me deep,
where the pain cannot reach.
Sunset or sunrise
it doesn’t matter.
I am but meat.
There’s not much left in me;
my brain is jumbling,
and I cannot speak.
This job may be the death of me
too tired to think.
Each day is a struggle;
the passing trees swerve and tumble,
drawing me closer, they mumble.
I don’t feel human.
I feel less than I used to.
Hang me from your tree,
for my beloved to see.
Gaze upon what’s around so rarely
here to stay, withered and empty.
I love you forever,
my love, my family.
Eyes to the skies
Vs 1
As you move, you glide...
hips sway side to side...
Your step's in rhythm to my heartbeat
Vs 2
You glance across the room...
Your gaze tells me I'm doomed...
To your love and there's no escaping
Pre-Chorus
I raise my eyes, to the skies, and pray
Please dear Lord, give us both, another day
Chorus
Tonight will be the death of me...
Kiss me oh so softly...
We swim together breathlessly...
Drowning in our loving
Vs 3
As a new day dawns...
Our love goes on and on...
Without your love I can't keep breathing
Vs 4
And as the days pass by...
the tears fall from your eyes...
I had a feeling, that you'd be leaving
Pre-chorus
I raise my eyes, to the skies, and pray...
Please dear Lord, give us both, another day
Chorus
Tonight will be the death of me...
Kiss me oh so softly...
We swim together breathlessly...
Drowning in our loving
Chorus
Tonight will be the death of me...
Kiss me oh so softly...
We swim together breathlessly...
Drowning in our loving
repeat chorus and fade
John Derek Hamilton
August 15,2023
revised with music and vocals June 26,2025
posted August 26,2025
His smile is like nothing I’ve ever seen before
It’s like the ocean
Beautiful but unknown
Whenever he smiles it’s like his face lights up
It’s like all my worries are washed away
His smile has a story to tell
And I’m more than willing to listen
I’ll listen to every word, every sound
I’ll listen even when he has nothing to say
His smile is something I want to experience
I want to put that smile on his face
I want to feel exactly how he feels when he smiles
His smile might be the death of me
But I don’t mind
I’d rather die seeing him smile,
Then never seeing his smile again
The pain is all I feel
I cannot see
I cannot move
I cannot breathe
It contorts as a dark entity trapped within me
Writhing, screaming, clawing at my heart
I cannot stop feeling
I cannot ignore it
I cannot turn it off
A persistent, agonizing, longing refuses to leave
Fissures of hopelessness brand my soul
Wider. Longer. Deeper
I cannot contain it
I cannot cover it
I cannot hide it
I am pain. Pain is me.
It will be the death of me.
Oh, what a hideous subject to cross my path,
Addition, subtraction, division, multiplication,
Percentages and fractions, those I can grasp,
But the rest, oh, I wish to throw you in the pit,
I can’t see your point of view no matter what you do.
To me, you're the dragon that bites off my head,
A vicious lion, while I’m the innocent bunny that is caught in your claws.
You're the shark, and I am the fish you are gobbling up,
So don’t pretend that you're a friend to me.
I truly dislike you,
When you appear on my screen.
I imagine a million ways to get rid of you,
I'd toss you in a garbage disposal,
Watch you grind up into a million different pieces.
I'd throw you into the deepest part of the ocean's,
I wouldn’t be sad as I watch you sink.
Oh, if only I could launch you into space,
So fast that NASA would think you’re a UFO.
I wouldn’t regret your departure,
So far that you crash-land on Jupiter's third moon.
But in the end, it’s all just fantasy,
For it’s clear you’ll most likely be the death of me,
Before my school years are through.
Once again the silvery moon has pilfered the golden sun
Total eclipse is upon me, time has elapsed suspending orange
Twilight’s begun on the orb’s descending softer glow
Veiled in twilight…
Placid and limitless, I’ve glimpsed into the frontier in tranquil rapture
Moon aligns sans sun’s bright face
Jolted by twilight…
I coast along a sea of stars juddered wildly
Waves spanning the sky avec abandon
Embraced by star-strewn externals
I leave behind a familiar harbor
Anchored are my temporal remnants down in the terrestrial realm
My spirit soaring, a mirthful lodger I be,
swimming in twilight’s radiance
Its celestial smile shall be the death of me...
embracing star-strewn
crowned external forevers~
we soar the tides dance
What should I write, what do you think
How's about tightie whities
The kind that get most women all worked up
Divesting themselves of their nighties
Even if you plead you have a headache
She's in no condition to listen
Those tightie whities are driving her crazy
Down below she starts goin' fishin'
All of a sudden your headache disappears
Now it's you who's all gung ho
You yell out “tally ho ride 'em cowboy”
She screams bloody murder “woo ho”
That continues for about thirty-eight seconds
Then collapsing exhausted on the floor
You scream out “got a cramp in my leg”
She yells, “want more, want more, want more!”
Think to myself that's the very last time
It's polka dot boxers from now on
Tightie whities will be the death of me
At my age, I ain't got that long
Ha... a fairy tale!!!
Eyes to the skies
Vs 1
As you move, you glide...
hips sway side to side...
Your step's in rhythm to my heartbeat
Vs 2
You glance across the room...
Your gaze tells me I'm doomed...
To your love and there's no escaping
Pre-Chorus
I raise my eyes, to the skies, and pray
Please dear Lord, give us both, another day
Chorus
Tonight will be the death of me...
Kiss me oh so softly...
We swim together breathlessly...
Drowning in our loving
Vs 3
As a new day dawns...
Our love goes on and on...
Without your love I can't keep breathing
Vs 4
And as the days pass by...
the tears fall from your eyes...
I had a feeling, that you'd be leaving
Pre-chorus
I raise my eyes, to the skies, and pray...
Please dear Lord, give us both, another day
Chorus
Tonight will be the death of me...
Kiss me oh so softly...
We swim together breathlessly...
Drowning in our loving
Chorus
Tonight will be the death of me...
Kiss me oh so softly...
We swim together breathlessly...
Drowning in our loving
repeat chorus and fade
John Derek Hamilton
August 15,2023
Trapped within these walls of stone,
A prisoner of my own making.
Captured by a hollow heart,
A fortress for the taking.
Swordless on a fragile throne,
I'm a King without a crown.
Haunted here at castle's keep,
By a Queen who'd bring it down.
Skin of white with blackened soul,
A Sorceress in disguise.
Sin behind a wicked grin,
Is reflected in her eyes.
Toying with my emotions,
A game she loves so much.
A game I'm sure to lose,
Just a victim of her touch.
Casting spells I know so well,
Powerless to her magic.
Tortured in this dungeon deep,
My life is turning tragic.
Shackled in chains of lust,
I'm bound by this decree.
The Queen of Broken Hearts,
Will be the death of me.
Were in the (study) trenches, but we don’t mind,
in the trenches, you aren’t really aware of time,
I’ve talked with a lot of my classmates,
and the citadel lights are burning late.
Ever startle awake because a spiders on your face - but it’s only your hair?
Sunny’s been infected with the writing sickness.
She keeps saying “listen to this.”
Orthography might just be the death of me - seriously.
I dreamed Peter (my BF) was leaving.
I saw him behind the wheel of a car,
waving from the deck of a ship,
and blurred in the window of a bullet train.
It was like a wheel of misfortune.
.
.
Webster: Orthography: “spelling correctly”
Its precarious, what we have
On scales, I perform a balancing act
Desperate to trust blindly,
Wishing I could be so brave as to throw my heart on line
I can’t, practicality is my curse
I once cursed love, and romance shall not be the death of me
But I wish it were
Once, I was crazy about that other, then another
Oh love, why is it easy for me to be ready to throw myself for one who’s not you
Are you sitting by the window, thinking these thoughts
Are we in love, or are we playing a dreadful game
Psychological power struggle, is that what this is?
War, or love, all I know, this isn’t fair
To me, or to you, being in this pink daze
Some days, I’m so sure I’m in love
Its conditional, I think
I want to love you, I’m just scared
i ought to be having fun
here i am in a pile named bill
i wish i was relaxing in the sun
here i am banging my head and getting ill
there is a Room that i go to
where Prayer is The Ultimate Trip
there is a Wonderful Person that i Throw To
He is just the Hippest of The Hip
i ought to be enjoying the view
here i am drowning in more cold stress that will soon be the death of me
i wish i was taking in skies with the perfect hue of blue
here i am allowing more heavily weighted ice cold anvils to take what is left of the breath of me
there is a Room that i go to
where Prayer Provides The Perfectly Adequate Space
there is a Wonderful Person that i Throw To
MAN DO I FULLY WELCOME HIS EVERY EMBRACE!
We are out in the ocean where the spray is rough
Old Medley Meanie decides to get meaner and tough
We take Captain Smithe and we throw him overboard.
We are a crew of roughnecks with our hatchet and sword!
Cap’n is gone, we are cheering our rebel!
The ocean has taken him, he’s head’d for hell.
We are fighting to be Captain, in charge now.
Fighting for the crown on the ship’s bloody bow!
There are ten of us left. We know there is only food for six.
I am hoping to get the one steak, but I am in quite a fix.
The other pirates are as mean as I have ever tried to be.
I am in trouble now in this dangerous Caribbean Sea.
Cap’n is gone, we are cheering our rebel!
The ocean has taken him, he’s head’d for hell.
We are fighting to be Captain, in charge now.
Fighting for the crown on the ship’s bloody bow!
There are six of us left, we are the toughest of all.
I am scared of only one, shipmate Morey, he is seven foot tall.
He comes at me with a hatchet, and I plunge into the sea.
I guess fear will now be the death of me.
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