Death came riding in on a florist’s spotted pony
A bright trobaritz of the farther greener side
Saying, “I seek respite from mortal acrimony,
So grant me some stable ground while I hide.”
A moment of disbelief at such gall and sedition
Despair at once transmuted into song
I could hear her eternal frustrated condition:
Why can’t we all just get along?
She turned to me and proceeded to tell
Of how we see the same whirling scenes
Of her steed, no more than a painted carousel
And the same mistakes imprinted in our genes
“I am found not in the loss, but in the finding
I reap not with scythe, but repossession
That you all may have some relief from the binding
From your age-old claustrophobic aggression.”
I spat caustic words like a cornered, wounded animal
“You could have spared him,” I began to debate,
“For time is the only true undiscerning cannibal
And events unforeseen random mutations of fate.”
I cursed her, I wished that I somehow could break her
I accused her of being a selfish user and taker
A shameless fear-mongering mover and shaker
She calmly replied, “I am the ultimate peace maker.”
Dark matter, gray matter
No matter now
If detained for the latter,
I will likely disavow
I wake to the sounds of far-off church bells ringing
And I try to recall exactly where I am
There’s no traffic sounds here, just a distant train rumbling
And the sugarcane sweetness on the breeze close at hand
Then something else stirs within
My thoughts go trailing back again
If I had a bird’s eye guiding light view
I might never descend
And it’s dream blue water, dream blue water
Gut-wrenching flashback to a vision almost gone
Dream blue water, dream blue water
Just a droplet of sweetness, then it’s time to move on
I wake to the sounds of bike bells and shouting
A medley of foreign words, industrial bedlam
The memory of northern lights remains on my tongue
And the finest white widow in all of Amsterdam
Then something else stirs me more
My thoughts go back to a time before
Between states of agony and bliss
I run until I find what my soul has been starving for
Dream blue water, dream blue water
A bit of passion still holds toxins inside
Dream blue water, dream blue water
Just a droplet of sweetness is all I need to abide
I wake to the sound of a loudly-chirping songbird
Trying to stake out its territory fair and square
So I leave in quiet exile in search of some peace
And return with an evening raga hanging in the air
Then something stirs me, to my dismay
My thoughts go spiraling away
It was so close, almost too late
I almost took to the sea and swam away
And it’s dream blue water, dream blue water
Tried to get to the sea, that divine wishing well
Dream blue water, dream blue water
Just a droplet of sweetness through the bars of my prison cell
The tale is twisted before my eyes
A snake deceptively pure of guise
Guilt-ridden into submissive state
Is what they’re hoping will be my fate
They slam my brothers who would defend me
And criticize when I champion them
But those who love us will know the difference
And bless the journey we soon begin
The wine is drunk and the song is sung
It then makes loose of a toxic tongue
Deep wounds can fester if never sewn
And the poison spreads into nerve and bone
Brings raging fever, fear, and delusion
But I take courage amongst my kind
And I will drink of this medication
And sing elixir of heart and mind
What is true must be brought to light
And what is free must be unoppressed
What is anew must be given strength
And what declines must be laid to rest
What is reborn suffers fools no longer
What is weary may play the fool
What is malignant goes disregarded
And consumes itself in its manner cruel
I want to hold you in my arms and sing your soul awake
Sip dew from the hollow of your throat until my thirst is slaked
Vibrantly green fresh springtime leaves reflected in your eyes
Such beauty deep smiling in your soul, open gateways to paradise
Like two dolphins in deep-sea flight, we move in time as one
So graceful in our harmony, a fluid dance begun
Across this sad temple with my lips I will blaze a trail
Restoring your brightness as I go, through the shadow’s veil
We have come full circle now
Old souls with youthful hearts untamed
We have returned to our innocence
And Eden we have reclaimed
Let my light pour into you until your joy is mine
Eternal hunger and eternal feasting in fusion divine
All gentleness, passion, power, and grace; all strength and sweetness pure
That is why I still will never fear whatever fate we may endure
I want to hold you in my arms and sing your soul awake
Sip dew from the hollow of your throat until my thirst is slaked
Vibrantly green fresh springtime leaves reflected in your eyes
Such beauty deep smiling in your soul, open gateways to paradise
Well, I was just nineteen when it happened to me
An innocent damsel running free
Well late one night I should happen to see
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love
Well, he carried himself like he was onstage
And all he lied about was his age
But it seems his talent is all the rage
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love
Well it seems quite safe, but I have no doubt
My mother would kill me if she found out
That I’m in love with an Elvis impersonator
My velvet sculpture’s gathering dust back home
I’ve just gotta have a fling
With the man dressed like the King
And I’ll follow his tour bus wherever it may roam
My heart starts racing when he shakes those hips
And I’d sell my soul for him to kiss my lips
When he wears those shades, my mind just flips
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love ...
Well, I took this sign to mean good news
When he told me not to lay off his blue-suede shoes
When he loves me tender, I just can’t lose
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love ...
With his hair slicked back, his pants so tight
I pray to the lord with all my might
That I’ll never wake up and see the light
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love ...
Well it seems quite safe, but I have no doubt
My mother would kill me if she f
ound out
That I’m in love with an Elvis impersonator
My velvet sculpture’s gathering dust back home
I’ve just gotta have a fling
With the man dressed like the King
And I’ll follow his tour bus wherever it may roam
My heart starts racing when he shakes those hips
And I’d sell my soul for him to kiss my lips
When he wears those shades, my mind just flips
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love ...
He’s an eye-popper and a heart-stealer
His fans look to him like a spiritual healer
The real King couldn’t get much realer
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love ...
And now I’ve become his biggest fan
He calls me Priscilla when I kiss his hand
Oh, Graceland couldn’t touch this man
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love ...
Well it seems quite safe, but I have no doubt
My mother would kill me if she found out
That I’m in love with an Elvis impersonator
My velvet sculpture’s gathering dust back home
I’ve just gotta have a fling
With the man dressed like the King
And I’ll follow his tour bus wherever it may roam
My heart starts racing when he shakes those hips
And I’d sell my soul for him to kiss my lips
When he wears those shades, my mind just flips
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love ...
He’s got a voice that would sail a thousand ships
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love
I hope success doesn’t go to my hips
A hunka-hunka burnin’ love ...
Last night I watched a fervent couple conquer whip and spur
Hearts pumping in their breasts, along the shoreline they did run
Til they fled into the ocean and Poseidon’s cool embrace
And found a world where men and horses live side by side as one
Tempering desire with a vow of secrecy
But all the pretty wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me
Trying to destroy an inner harlotry
But all the pretty wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me
If the flesh is more than willing, and the spirit lies as weak
Then the penalty is grim, as all the pretty horses know
You’ll be shackled to their tails as they run off in four directions
And the heart is torn asunder, but the spirit free to go
Tempering desire with a vow of secrecy
But all the pretty wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me
Trying to destroy an inner harlotry
But all the pretty wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me
And when I breathe my last, don’t throw me six feet underground
‘Cause I’ll never rest in solace for a moment even then
Just scatter all my ashes on the backs of those wild ponies
That I may at last run with them, my body to transcend
Tempering desire with a vow of secrecy
But all the pretty wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me
Trying to destroy an inner harlotry
But all the pretty wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me
I have wandered in exile a path with no end
And I have nothing left but my pride to defend
And driving me onward, a hostile south wind
Put your hands in my own now, and heed me
I know not what I’m gaining or leaving behind
If I’m searching the land for a spirit in kind
Or fleeing the burdens of my troubled mind
Put your hands in my own now, and heed me
It matters not now, when my fears I must face
If the balance is frail between laud and disgrace
Then I’ll go to seek refuge in some other place
Put your hands in my own now, and heed me
You can’t burn ashes, tear wreckage apart
You can’t kill a dead man, and you can’t break my heart
I’m too wise in my ways now to make a new start
Put your hands in my own now, and heed me
Wasn’t I naïve, wasn’t I unlearned
To be floating in a basket down the Nile
Feeling like the chosen lady
And didn’t you come along, come along and say,
“That ain’t no way to treat a baby,
No way to treat a baby.”
And didn’t I cry then, didn’t I raise my voice
With the Pharaoh’s daughters’ staunch reminder
Of the life I should have known
And didn’t you come along, come along and say,
“It’s everyone else’s crime but your own,
It’s a crime, but not your own.”
And didn’t you lift me from the water and wash away my sins
Bare and glistening as if though in birth
And declared a different day
And fed me on locusts, locusts and wild honey
To forge me into a baptist someday
A baptist like yourself someday
Didn’t I see it then, that fateful darkest night
I know the face that hides behind the flame
Of the burning bush on the hill
If the brimstone doesn’t kill, doesn’t kill the enemy now,
Then the brightness of the flame surely will
Then the brightness surely will
Now I am the guardian of black sheep, the champion underdog
Spend a lifetime betting on dark horses
And behind each one-man band
I am the patron saint of least favorite children
And I will lead us to the promised land
Lead us to the promised land
Oh, scarlet harlot, oh wicked wife
I’m the madwoman locked in your attic for life
When the house begins to burn, I’ll have no protection
Bad seed, no food for you
The less of me exists, the less wrong I can do
I want to quickly fade away into perfection
If I could only slip through the cracks
I could be everything competition lacks
If I could only overcome these basic needs
Ashes to switches and dust to coal
Is all you’ll find within my soul
I’ve been wrong even through all my noble deeds
Approval can’t be sold or bought
It’s often given me food for thought
But it seldom nourishes mind, heart, and body
Your former trophy is far away
And only my shell is here to stay
Skeletal, perfect, glorified, and gaudy
I stare at this fine jubilee
The day we thought we’d never see
Your smiling eyes have never looked so bright
Though some of us speak different tongues
In our joy we are as one
For no dismay can hinder your delight
We are gathered here today to say,
“You finally got it right ...”
Before you heard these wedding bells
You suffered many types of hells
But every heartache past now just seems trite
With history wiped clean away
The rising sun, a brand-new day
This morning peaceful warriors unite
We are gathered here today to say,
“You finally got it right ...”
For more than half my life,
I’ve watched you stand and take a shot
Trying to find out who you are, or rather, who you’re not
There was a rush to come of age, a youth that seemed so brief
Fast forward to this blessed day, we grin in disbelief
Burned and broken was the beast
Until a sweet wind from the east
And what you thought of love changed overnight
Now, have no sorrow, have no fear
Let’s get this party started here
For on this day you wed in the limelight
Mongrels and Misfits Page 3
