Every creator eventually arrives at a fork in the road. One path asks you to keep building—despite the silence, despite the criticism, despite the uncertainty. The other invites you to stand on the sidelines and explain why everyone else's work falls short. The internet has made that second pat

Some monuments aren't built to celebrate perfection. They're built because someone stayed standing. "There's a peace in standing shattered right where everyone can see." From Lit Like This by J.S. Clockwise. #Lyrics #Poetry #VisualPoetry #Songwriter #Origina

This artwork grew out of a single lyric from Spider Revisited: "The shape of a woman, from shoulder to moon." The song is full of memories that linger in a room long after the people have gone. I wanted the image to carry that same feeling. I've always been struck by how the curves o

Most people spend their lives trying to escape suffering. Modern entertainment often does the same. It offers fantasies of power, certainty, romance, or justice, where pain exists only to be conquered before the credits roll. I have no objection to happy endings. I simply don't think they tell

From my song Cactus Man. I think we've all known people who were easy to overlook. Or maybe we've been that person ourselves. This line isn't about expecting someone to notice you. It's about recognizing that a second look is a gift—not an entitlement. That's what m

I've always believed the opening line is the most important line in a poem. Not because it's the cleverest, or the most quotable, but because it's the first promise you make to the reader. It quietly says, "If you'll give me your attention for just a little while, I think I c

There was never any question which song would end this chapter. Long before No Gospel Here became the final release in a year-long string of songs, it existed as a poem called Forgive This Brief Intrusion. I gave that poem the same title as my first self-published poetry collection because it re

Sometimes it isn't the heartbreak that changes us. It's the tiny things. A glance that lingered a second too long. A text reread a hundred times. A coffee shared. A goodbye that never felt like one. We collect those crumbs until, before we realize it, we've built monuments no one

For most of my life, I've felt a little like a ghost. Not misunderstood. Not mistreated. Just unnoticed. Never the loudest person in the room. Never the one people naturally gathered around. Even in high school, I often felt as though life was happening around me rather than with me. For yea

The older I get, the less this song feels like a prayer and the more it feels like a classified ad. Not because faith disappeared. Because guidance did. Because wisdom did. Because leadership did. Sometimes the holiest thing a person can say is simply: "Help wanted." Lord, Send Me A

I used to think the proper response to a song like "Cracked Bottom Lip" was embarrassment. After all, the song was inspired by a woman who was never really mine to lose. There was flirtation, confessions, and a friendship that meant more to me than it did to her, but there was never a re

"You don't want this cat." I've adopted a handful of cats over the years, and to this day, I've never heard anyone at an animal shelter say that to a potential adopter. It was February of 2023. I had recently left a sixteen-year relationship and moved into an apartment of

Some prices aren't paid once. They're paid every morning you decide to get back up. "Redefine the cost here for daring not to quit." — J.S. Clockwise #writersoflemon #poetsoflemon8 #motivational #reevaluate #newmusic2026

Have you ever had someone offer help after becoming part of the reason you needed it? "It's hard to hear you pray for me. You sound like such a liar." #Lyrics #songwriter #poetsoflemon8 #newmusic #jsclockwise

“The Gist” began with a realization that changed the way I wrote. After years of struggling to find my voice, I discovered that the only way poetry seemed to work for me was through the voice of Leonard Cohen. Not by copying him, but by reading my own lyrics back in that unmistakable baritone and a

This image was inspired by a line from my song "Spider Revisited." The line isn't really about a garden. It's about those moments in life that arrive disguised as blessings—relationships, opportunities, temptations, promises—only to reveal their true cost much later. The se

“The Tower and the Wall” was written in November of 2016, immediately after Trump’s first election victory. Oddly enough, despite how dense and layered the lyrics are, it was one of the fastest songs I’ve ever written. Most of my work feels crafted line by line — this one felt delivered. I wasn’t c

They just slowly become places you survive inside. “Where the web catches dust.” — Spider Revisited #JSClockwise #SouthernGothic #DarkAmericana #Poetry #Songwriter

There’s a line in Spider Revisited that reads: “It looked like a garden, was really a grave.” That line probably captures the emotional core of the song better than anything else in it. The song lives in that uncomfortable territory where emotional awakening and emotional destruction can exist side