Beer and a Few Crumbs of Bread (4-1994)

the sun gently slips behind the january mountains

leaving the sky to fend for itself

against the harsh, black, moonless night

i, myself, a bystander

watch from a hill high above the oilfields

and smoke a Marlboro

gathering my makeshift thoughts

and trying to grasp some

sort of perspective of myself

sometimes i feel crowded...

that there's just one too many kooks

aboard this square yellow bus

sometimes the clown is driving

with his self-depreciating humor

but the smile he wears is painted on

he hides behind it and

sometimes I glimps it

as a single tear runs down his

white cheek

splashing harmlessly against his

grey faded lapels

at other times it is the demon

who smiles devilishly and

who delights in steering us

slightly askew

seemingly intreagued by the suffering

of others at his own gain

when he is driving

we all duck and cover

then sometimes the intellect drives

and takes us on a cultural tour

of life that surrounds us

as he feigns concern

at the plight of the less fortunate

but he knows he is just a myth

and fear will always

keep a tight reign on his thoughts

but fear doesn't ever drive

he only sits in the corner of the bus

alone

with his .357

and the rest of us wonder

when he'll snap like a twig

and just start shooting

i have amused myself

and i stamp out the cigarette

and crave beer and some crumbs of bread