6am and feeling time
i dreamt i was on a road trip
with willie nelson
and a woman i haven’t met yet
shaving with a throwing knife
the landscape was flat and unfamiliar
i thought i had something
but in the end it was
instigation, investigation, and irritation
always left wanting more
by an unwelcome alarm clock
fumbling, stumbling, and
looking out the same stained window
day after day

we are tired of stale news
and empty slogans
writing nonsense in shorthand
“shoot straight” the voice said
everyone wants something
so please
don’t drag your feet
across the beaver’s moon
distant stars
red, yellow, boom
a strange kind of mood
leave the transmitter on standby
and pray for a signal
because you know that
all these muscles have atrophied
from talking over and
walking under rural and rusted joints
littered with labored breaths
life isn’t that short, is it?

we thought peace was the battle cry
but an ignorant socialist
and a loud mouthed bigot
are winning the nation’s popularity contest
and the more I watch, the more i see
the world has become cold
1984 and brave new world in reverse
surveillance, pharmacology, and security
the false trinity
truth is only a matter of perspective
between blurred lines of good and evil
they want to rob us of our individuality
in the name of equality
where is howard beale when we need him

and have you noticed
that even in silence
there’s so much noise?
because everyone has…toys
distraction, disappointment
free minds disarmed by
propaganda
i really can’t stand it anymore
my friend said getting old is a bitch
worse perhaps
than digging a ditch
all i ever wanted to be
was a pirate
or hero