SHATTUCK AVENUE

I came to a town and walked all around,
Looking for a place with space to lie down,
Under wave after wave of machinery sound,
But found no place not owned,
And no place not patrolled,
Just mile after mile of concrete ground,
A man soon passed,
I immediately asked,
“What place is nearby, for a man like me,
Who wants to be warm, and safe, and free?”
He glanced around to see,
Then shook his head,
And shrugged, and said,
“I really don’t know,
Where you should go,
But you shouldn’t wait,
Don’t hesitate,
It’s getting late,
The cops will get you for vagrancy.
Get off the streets, the sooner the better.
Remember, be careful, don’t loiter.”
He started away,
I asked once again
For a suggestion of direction.
“Just head for the hills,”
I heard him say.
I started to move,
He pointed the way.

REBEL WITH A CAUSE

I heard you say
There will come a day,
When I will turn away
From the life I lead,
That life your way
Is what I need.
Retreat, indeed!
The longer one stays
And the older one gets
The more he is set
In his path worn ways.
Raised as your son,
I have just begun
To break away
From living your way.

PARADISE OF FORTUNE

Oh Vietnam, we love so well,
Your war we hold so dear.
Fond thoughts of the bloodshed,
Stay through each passing year.

As we dwell in apathy,
Our memories we will hold.
We won’t forget dear Vietnam,
We’ll remember the arms we sold.

Drafted fools, forced to go,
Shit and piss over your land.
Military orders, kill for peace,
Puppets pulled, by our hand.

Expand the war, we don’t care,
We’re eating well and riding high.
Sipping cocktails most casually,
Enjoying life, while you die.

All the madness, countless deaths,
Flesh rotting and bodies cold,
Brought us great abundance,
Wealth and pleasures untold.

Oh Vietnam, fortune’s paradise,
To stuff the stomachs of men,
By blowing up bellies and families,
Of the native Viet Minh.

CITY DWELLER’S DAYDREAM

Many times I sit and think
About what goes on about me,
Sensing the scents,
The sights and sounds,
The tastes and textures,
Constantly around.
I see myself to be within it,
And wish to be without it.