27 August 2011

give back the name

it’s not just a word
it’s something you earn
something vital and tried
that still lives                             at times

indicates          authenticity

which is why             you decide
                                           to pin it to your
often trite
                                                           ironic glasses and
hipsta might

you think it’s yours        ‘cause it was given you
but night after night
                                             i won’t forgive you

if you push it out there long enough 
                                     if you pretend to be that kind of tough

the one night’ll come
                          and it may not be me
but some other fool mad
                          from the improbability
             of what had been un-corruptible
                                       
now corrupted
                               
time was     
     only slightly marred      by slurs  by slippers
            eggars  idea of strings                
                                    sounds like                         strippers

‘beautiful’        but empty sweet

                                    mean and drugged                underneath

thrown off at last on a houston night
where your old man
                               he just might

 he gave it to you    found the will to live
 but cowboybootsoncoffeetables don’t make it his to give
you you you ride the wave like you had    anything
                                                              
to do with the moon that brings it in
                                               that shit was permanent                                      
                                                      until you burned it

             like what you have came from that man
                          throwing off words    catch-as-catch-can
        but you you you you       y’scrape and  y’stand

at every turn like this was yours to take
with your little rock hammer and your heart so fake
and piece by piece you chip away
                                    at the thought              at the name

at the love/at the lie
at the electro-shock fallin outta the sky
 at west memphis darlins                 Odetta’s truth
                  rex’s bell   and   rex’s blues

you can’t cut yourself a columbine
you can’t black haired dutch boy
you can’t fool anyone   but                             
 cops

and you can’t fool me

no


you can’t fool me

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