I tried to write a song

that everybody would remember

But instead of applause

all I heard was falling timber

I tried to wave goodbye

to  a few chosen few

The ones who gave their time

and their bodies up for you

I tried to give a smile

of thanks and congratulations

But what got in the way

was fear and adulation

When I think back to the time

when everybody had a mission

or at least a premise

before they hung the sign “Gone Fishin'”

There was a sense that there was something

underneath it all

Instead of all actions

causin’ just one house to fall

So I tried to give a speech

in hopes that they all would hear me

Although I could see their eyes

It was still their backs I would see

I never raised a hand

a fist or a finger

For all that happened in a time

and those feelings they still linger

I tried to reach a man

who could make them all take notice

But all I got from him was

Do you know what today’s vote is

When I think back to the time

when everybody had a mission

or at least a premise

before they hung the sign “Gone Fishin'”

Won’t someone please take me there

it may not yet exist

when they didn’t fight with words or bombs,

or guns, but with a fist

That time seems so much safer

I might be able to fight my way out

Instead of having to scream,

“Everybody get out!”

Now when I try to wave goodbye

to a few chosen few

I get an invisible middle finger

and a silent “F-U!”

So I hope this song

falls into the right hands

or into the ears and minds

of the fearless and heartful across these

great lands

May they know just what to do

when the time comes to past

and not just tuck their tail and run

on the cemetery of the vast

Byzantine drama

created by and for the masses

Numbers skewed

to make it last just like molasses

Collect all your thoughts

images in a diary

for knowledge can’t be extracted

but diminished with the fiery