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CLUELESS
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BINGEWATCHING bOJACK hORSEMAN
Nobody has a clue
as to why the thing
has gotten so out of hand
There’s bombs on airplanes
and Uzis in the mall
The kids are growing up
on Barney
but it don’t seem
to be doing much good
as the bullets fly
I duck up onto a mountain
in seclusion
and I romp thru the woods
aways from the madness
of humanity
It’s so strange
to be so isolated
from the rest of the pack—
to be set apart
like a leper in Jerusalem
I hide my shame
behind carefully worded lines
The press is barred
from the scent of the crime
I am accused
and I have no alibi
no cameras were there
to film me in my innocence
as I hid from the melee
and remained aloof from mobs
the killings go on
as churches crumble
and innocent lives shatter
The picture tube isn’t clear
It blurs out vision
and helps ease our conscience
makes us feel a lot better
in the face of such decay
It’s hard to take Sally Struthers
seriously after
watching early episodes
of “All in the Family”
I’m not just an average guy
I can’t accept that role
No how, No way
I have to step above
all the senselessness
and the insanity of the times
I seek solace in Gandhi
but the struggle for peace
is quite difficult
I watch the chaos on TV
and it becomes unreal
and the flowers seem to wilt
in poetic pretense
I wanna defend the night
and visualize the city
vibrant with fecund energy
some good could come of this
that much I am certain
The mountain mud was cleansing
in the spiritual sense
but a return to my senses
left me standing naked
in the middle of a highway
without clothes or shelter
the dreams are unfriendly
as the sky begins to fall
but I really don’t fear
the dark of night anymore
Nightmare monsters can be
easily defeated
just say the word so
but no one knows the word
the secret is well kept
as the decadence persists
and I smile pensively
at the shooting stars
racing across the galaxy
in a fervent mission
to shed light on all
but we still don’t know
haven’t got a clue
and I’m beginning to realize
that we probably never will
8-6-96
The world is always ending on
The world is always ending on T/v.
I suppose, now, that would also need to be said for social media.
Away from the satellites and fiber optic cables, the world's doing slightly better. Maybe only slightly, but, I suppose per your desires shared elsewhere, there's a little space to breathe ; )
This is one of yours that, to me, is a "classic". Maybe it's just the way it connects with me, having definitely walked a similar path in the last decade of my life, but I think it's more than that. It has your trademark meshing of personal observation, philosophy and time stamped contemporary culture sown together with dualing needles of self assuredness and self depracation - both feeling sincere.
Anyway, definitely thoroughly appreciated here.
This is actually an amazing
This is actually an amazing time to be alive but there are a lot of people determined to tank the party. Thank you for your kind words
Your statement, that this is
Your statement, that this is an amazing time to be alive, is both very observant, very accurate, and very wise. And I applaud you on all three of those aspects. As a former history major, and maybe a little smarter than I was back then, I am beginning to believe that every era, present and past, is an amazing time to be alive---for those who are alive in it. My grandmother was amazed to see transportation evolve from the railroads through airplanes, and then to the space shuttle---in one lifetime, hers. And I imagine that most people were amazed when that same transportation evolved from saddled horses prancing along footpaths to iron horses gliding along steel rails. Our existence seems to be designed to find wisdom in the lessons of the past, and amazement in the events of the present---whether those events are personal (like a deluxe pizza during a good horror movie) or cosmic (like the observations being made by the James Webb telescope).
Thanks for making my afternoon brighter.
Seryddwr
Mhm. To be alive, in itself,
Mhm. To be alive, in itself, is quite remarkable. Can only hope that many more people get a chance to exist and experience it.
You're welcome - thoroughly enjoyed and further enriched by.