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I open the door
Dylan is tellin' me how it is
In this ramshackle world
Wounded by mad pride
And prejudice
And I don't care
If I throw in cliches
This whole damned place is one
Tired and bored
Listless
Just get as many kicks
Until you die
An honor shortage
Dignity has run her course
A fuck and a buck
Is all we know
Striptease joint
And expensive car
Is all we know

In the hollow
This slag
Something is coming
Sent on the last train
From New Orleans
And Texas
From LA and San Francisco
To Chicago and New York
The tide turns
A modicum of truth is set alight
Turning the whole world red
In anger
Or love
The moon drips
And people listen
They hold hands
Pray
Repent
And demand justice
See a new way
Of becoming

They wait on new platforms
It starts as a murmur
But builds
Men at the top fall down
Diamonds die natural deaths
A rainbow appears over Auschwitz
In trepidation
And some wounds won't heal
But that's the way it is
The drums beat on
Bringing that new imperfect day
And we carry our mistakes
Until forgiveness chimes in

We find the sacred place
Without murder and rape
With respect
And love
For one another

I stop the CD

Rebirth is forever now. It's true that crisis is a reality and that if we are honest we face a crisis every instant of our being. And therin lies the hope of redemption. Our freedom lies within our choices. Our wounds contain the inherent capacity for healing and health. At the bottom of the abyss, the very bottom, lies gold - true gold. Not nourishment that offers a feast but offers life. It's not so much turning off the radio, but a matter of fine tuning. We walk upon the razor's edge. Thanks for your inciteful words Boss. Play on minstrel.

Bernard

Bernard,

Thank you for your insight. We do 'face a crisis every instant of our being'. We do 'walk upon the razor's edge'. Put simply I believe the world is at such a juncture - 'at the bottom of the abyss'. But like some on Earth, I too believe a revolution is near. This may not be rooted in any traditional religion. It's motion grows and as Cohen suggests "It's coming to America first"

You start by saying 'Rebirth is forever now'. And I can only add that there is coming a time where this 'now' is going to feel a thud. Cohen sings it explicitly in his song The Future - "There'll be the breaking of the ancient western code. Your private life will suddenly explode" Such notions are threaded throughout his album of the same name - problem is too few take it seriously. They believe it metaphorical. One can be spineless and take advantage of our times. As my poem suggests we can lose ourselves in sex and money. Or one can be courageous and stand up for a new day, new times. As Cohen sings in Democracy "It's coming through a hole in the air"

It's coming to Humanity, like it or not. We must turn off our radios and start singing.

Kind regards

Boss

nice change of view/direction in your poem, Boss.
When I feel like that I go for a walk in the forrest or by the ocean and take in some noises from nature rather than all that prattle from humanity.
Your man Thoreau said it well at Waldon Pond. His essay on "walking" is refreshing and would suit your venture into optimism.
Your right,
turn off the t.v.
the radio
even Leonard
and go for a walk away from town
and maybe one day, one walk
take Thoreau with you.

Thanks for the poem Boss.

Thanks for your advice on Thoreau. I will not take it. You see I have myself. And the memory of a belligerent woman. That is enough.