Some Advice To A Young Boy Dreaming Of The Big Leagues

                        The good lord 

              didn’t intend          for you

                                    to hold your
left arm
                       up

                           over your
                              head
&

jerk
         it
            down vio
                           le
                              nt
                                   ly
                                      about a hundred times

                                                                                  every five days.

Fifteen Seconds Before The End Of The World

Give me both your hands
And I’ll tie them behind your back
And I’ll make a lot of speeches and
Say everything’s just rosy
And then we’ll have a dance
Where everyone is happy
Nobody says a thing
And I’m an unelected king
Who throws you all in prison
Take me to your leader
He’s the one with his head bowed
Listening for robins nesting in his bath tub
Throw them all some rice
And we’ll pretend we’re all married
Ceremonies are drab
But what a nice procession
Nothing stands in the way
Of losing all of your possessions
And I am not a person
Not one who takes things lightly
Giving away tokens
That light up all the machines
Glowing red and orange and yellow
While the sky falls on your heads
And the days are getting shorter
And time is running faster
And nobody just questions
The way things should be happening
The way things should be going
Everything is on my shoulders
The world is always sinking
Don’t forget to bring your lunchpails
Dinner is a long ways away
The bells have all been ringing
Since I learned to tie my shoes
And count up to eight
Sing a song of things found upon a trash heap
We all know the ways
To forget our ambition
To destroy our elation
To empty our jubilation
To chew on our frustration
To mind someone else’s manners
This is just something
You can’t quite call your own
This is just somewhere
You can’t quite call your home