Friendship Is Deep

i will light you on fire and i can’t just sit here thinking / “my fleet is sinking, / make room at the bottom of the sea” / or, “don’t upset the wealthy, / it’s unhealthy,” / everyone has a price, sometimes i have two / and if i lack point or purpose / on the surface / it’s only ‘cause i was trying to fit in / and some years are uneventful / inconsequential / and some years i don’t show up at all / and i will build a wall to watch it tilting / knock it over, start rebuilding / just to keep from wasting time / salute the march of the newly peaceful / from the mine shaft to the steeple / to the courthouse and back again / why don’t you don’t i join the protest / i’m still asleep, you’re not impressed / and we’d be better off uninvolved / o come on, come on tell me something / sell me something or i’m jumping / and i cannot live that way for long / and you know this requires discussion / or preferably, a concussion / why can’t we talk about something good?

it’s not smart or clever / to plug in the machine / and pull the lever / it’s a mistake / and it’s a mistake to tell you / that it’s a mistake / but even so, i’ll tell you, / it’s a mistake / you have gone from thinking what you thought / to learning how to rot / don’t ever do that again / you’re upset when no one sees you’ve grown, / your voice is not your own / don’t ever do that again / you were groomed to be perfect for the part, / then say you’re much too smart / to ever do that again / you have done what you knew wasn’t right, / and wasted your whole life, / don’t ever do that again

pull on your boots and stand up straight / get back in bed and sleep too late / the battlefield will go unstained / by abandoned tanks and wrecks of planes / if no one cares, then no one fights / and no one falls from brutal heights / into the camps of enemies / with whom they somewhat disagree / golden soldiers ignore the alarms / and your shoulders beg, lay down your arms / is it worth the fight and worth the pain / to lose your right to complain? / let marksmen try their best to miss / their targets will be glad for this / the sad ones stay in sad platoons / they’ll leave behind the trenches soon / the trench is put to better use / by planting seeds that will produce / fine trees carved with initials of / the lucky ones who fall in love / surrender is a noble end / for fights with nothing to defend / and there won’t be reasons for the fight / once soldiers of the world unite

the word hit my street / i found out, i found out / meant nothing to me / but look out, yeah look out / bad news can’t come cheap / i found out now nothing’s all right / the light that came on / was blinding, yeah blinding / and then it was gone / but i will remember / and i won’t move on / i found out now nothing’s all right / help me, help me to comprehend / why the people i choose to offend / doubt my motives are true and sincere / i can’t tell them what they’d like to hear / the word hit my street / i found out now nothing’s all right

oh, here’s this again / a two-minute warning / wake up, get out / it’s nearly morning / we were the tails of dogs / and the chisels of engravers / now we are the podiums / of the great communicators / it is not a fear of heights / it’s a fear of getting taller / by standing on a stack of / borrowed dollars / this is a test this is a test / i will not pass, i realize / there’s a name for those who know / and a room for those who wonder / and a “no” for every name / that’s not followed by a number / every picture’s an impostor / waiting to be redesigned / and hung in a home / for the criminally blind / and you should never trust / someone who is smarter than you are / and you won’t ever hear from those / who’ve got farther than you are / ‘cause you are who you are

oh, is this the new breed / that i read about in the papers / do they confuse me / as suggested by the papers / they’re pulling flowers / to get the weeds blame the mess on / the new breed / hang them up by their necks / make them pay for being smarter / now you’re a success / and you can’t go any farther / they’re pulling flowers / to get the weeds / blame the rest on / the new breed / oh no, i think i might have been wrong / oh no, i think i might have been wrong / what’d you say, boy, what’d you say, boy? / they’re pulling flowers / to get the weeds / blame yourself on / the new breed

our way of life must be preserved / for those of us with the nerve / to never ask why things must be / and never doubt the committee / dissent must be dealt with quick / the business end of a brick / is just the thing in the event / a busy mind needs punishment / the committee does not approve / of the people with the point of view / that the committee really serves no use / they are no good, they’ve got no excuse / and we are out to bring down those / who would hinder or oppose / our attempts to search this town / in our attempts to bring them down / and anyone who has tried / to get through life not taking sides / should be locked up and never heard / so that order can be preserved / and we are now scheduling talks / for shorter piers and longer walks / and we approve those who discuss / how they approve of us / the committee does not approve / of the people with the point of view / that the committee really serves no use / they are no good, they’ve got no excuse / to be no good and there’s no excuse / for the committee to serve no use / for the people with the point of view / that the committee does not approve

if i live a hundred years / i want to see that boy broken / and if i live for fifty years / i want to see that boy broken / and if i live for three more years / i want to see that boy broken / i’m not joking, no, not me / it’s not much of a threat / but i don’t really care yet / i could stick around and sulk for years / moving on is for better men / and i’m not one of them / i will stick around and sulk for years

i’m told i take compliments well / for such a lowly infidel / then i thought about it / i don’t expect that i’ll admit / to being the best candidate / i don’t speak the language / i get by, i get over / i get by, i get over / it’s just my age that prevents / a change in place of residence / i’m not getting any older / with nothing left to achieve / just when i got up to leave / i found out that i ran out / with distance between / we are doomed to be relieved / when it’s gone

everybody’s trying to be my villain / and i was unaware of the vacancy / some people predict bad news and hope it never happens / and others are content to assume authority / and maybe someday i will not be destitute / and i will be kicked by a better brand of boot / everybody’s trying to be my villain / the line keeps getting longer and that cannot be good / i guess i should be grateful for all of the attention / i guess i should be bitter that i’m never understood / i asked them for a hand and they lifted a finger / due to some concerns about losing their grip / i understood completely and thanked them for the effort / but i’m not one for breaking bottles on a sinking ship

believe me, / i’m unconvinced that self defense / serves any sort of purpose this time / and if i’ve broken ranks send in the tanks / or something else as heavy if you can / believe me / i know i’ve been wrong before / i’m likely to be wrong some more / it seems the pacifist just got his wish / all those who beat on him are getting theirs / and if his plans are shot, the culprit caught / will crumble just like nothing, as before / i don’t need anything from anyone / and i would leave if i could live with what i’ve done

don’t act like you’re an architect / you’re just the house i built / i put you in your place / and that’s where you will be / don’t listen when you’re spoken to / you know all you need to know / you’ve seen all you want to see / and it was all right / o come on, it’s not as though you’re any good / o come on, there’s nothing left to learn / o come on, there’s reasons you’re not strong enough / o come on, you’re worth more than you deserve / i have lost the urge to roam / through no fault of my own / so leave me, leave me / i like it here

because i was, on the other hand / intact, then cracked, then a broken man / now a broken man / but i tripped myself intentionally / and let myself fall expertly / where i don’t want to be / where no one ought to be / let my burden be broken just as i / was by my burden broken all the time / in fact, what i lacked in solid ground / came back and with that, i stopped falling down / i stopped falling down / it doesn’t matter / i’m battered from the brawl / and left to wonder / if it was deep at all

the last time this happened i became who i am / oh no / we cannot risk the same happening again / and so / so we must be patient despite provocation / you’ll go where you will and i’ll ponder starvation / and if you felt like i feel you’d be writing out your will / and practicing the art of staying perfectly still / so patience darling, patience / though you feel you might collapse / i am growing you a garden / you are drawing me a map / and if i felt like you feel i’d be skeptical at best / knowing what i know about how i am with tests