Inauguration.

the generation has arrived at the waterhole
and there is a drought
nothing new,
we'll just find another cactus
we can't rebuild the infrastructure
if the people are still dead
we are the lustsick youth of america
we are the children who rely on tylenol and beer to keep us awake for our sleepless empty nights
lying on rooftops making wishes on crashing airplanes instead of shooting stars
the sun exists in dreams and nightmares
and today
sleep through the rain and wait for the rainbow
daylight savings are only here for so long
screaming our mental lungs out to cement Jesus'
we beg to feel the wounds
to know something
is real
our souls are self-immolating
reaching out
to anything
we drive on an empty road
absorbing the bumps
like the grooves on a vinyl
we sit and wait
for jazz to return
the purity of the screaming sporadic trumpet
the innocence of the bass
walking up your spine
the joy of snare hitting and splashing
but all we hear
are words from a factory
being programmed on stage
but listen closely
and look behind the curtain
and you can stop playing follow the leader
and join in on duck duck goose
the wind is blowing the ships off course
but now they know
the world isn't flat
the fire burns the books they never read
but that just proves,
they never read at all
so thank you wind and fire
for all that you've destroyed
the windows are stained
and the pews have been cleaned
remove the rules,
and just confess it later.
convert the sinners from a script
and add up your points
and you've got a one way ticket to heaven
sitting with Jesus in a rocking chair
drinking pink lemonade
maybe there,
we can spend some more time "thinking"
about helping in a daily genocide
while we write a 600,000,000 dollar check
for a fight we got in.
the hope
and change
has always been here
but no one looked under the couch
until someone said "Yes We Can!"
No matter how many buildings are built
and houses are torn down
and roads are painted,
the trumpet will always squeal,
the baby will always cry,
the tomb will never be closed,
the wind will never settle,
and
we
will always find water somewhere.
just look beyond the streetlights
and post offices
beyond the cathedrals
and schools
even look beyond the waterfall
just close yours eyes
and open your mind
beyond a screened in room
don't speak to God
through
a man with a tin can
call up to the clouded sky
cry over lazarus
Hable fuera del idioma.
we are alive,
we are creating
we can survive without rite aid
and chrysler
we just have to look under the couch again
and wake up
before the alarm.

A Half Asleep Chorus

knock knock
knock
knock
I can't ring the doorbell
that'll wake the babies
so I leave the porch
misunderstood
and
misunderstanding
but
don't fear
I took the key
from under the doormat
for my belief
is that
we'll meet again
at a doorway
when?
don't trust the clock
the hands have always been too tired
to get past
the lag
of the human mind
so begins the countdown
of
unforeseeable future
that we all see
no matter what
I'll still fall
and the mushroom cloud will rise
I just hope
you're there to sweep the dust
when it's there
please forgive the mess
I never intended for the necessary to occur.

no matter
the planes the crash
the guns that shoot
the dust that hits the ground
remember
I still have the key
from under the doormat
and I always will
so clean the accidental necessary dust
and follow
the _______ brick road
to wherever it may lead

and

leave your pocketbook
full of receipts

and

bring your pocketbook
full of recipes

have a safe trip on your blank check
and see you at the doorway,
with no notebooks or cameras
only open eyes
and
dry hands
waiting for you
to wipe a few tears
I missed.