The Bird of the Lord

On the roof
One day
A pigeon spoke
And told me to do
Unspeakable things

I questioned him
He pecked me
In the eye
'Til I couldn't blink
And told me not to think

The pigeon read
My thoughts and fears
I fell
To my knees
In a terror of worship

He called himself
The Bird of the Lord
And said his wings
Would carry the truth
To the world

I believe in God
I cried out in tears
I serve him
In love
But he wouldn't hear

Your feeble mind
And fallible will
Cannot comprehend
So listen
I won't say it again

He gave me
His orders
Such terrible deeds
But before he took flight
I asked him his name

He swore me
To secrecy
Then perched on my ear
And whispered something
That sounded like hope

Where Are You From?

Once on a plane
Going somewhere
Some might consider exotic
A man asked me question
I'd heard once before

I didn't answer
He said that he knew
Like a snake he smiled
And began to describe
A picture of life he thought was mine

With one ear I listened
The other explored
The sounds that surrounded
Few words were familiar
But could not be ignored

I imagined their meaning
And pondered their place
As the man kept on talking
Deciding my fate
Describing my dreams with passionate hate

Then around me the words
I couldn't make clear
Came into focus
But were not what I knew
Imagination became my own indignation

With tears in my eyes
I turned to the man
I could still hear him talking
Inside of my head
Foretelling with detail my life and my death

But before I could look
I already knew
His voice it had vanished
And shriveled away
Along with my knowledge of anyone here

Benny and John

A long time ago
When I was young
My father and I would sit
Silent at the table
Staring out the window

Every half hour
Two fat and fuzzy squirrels
Like clockwork would come
To eat the birdseed hanging
From the aged, old oak

When they would reach
The top of the tree
Dad would pound on the glass
Scaring the shit
Right out of those squirrels

They came again
And again I laughed
Each time as hard as the last
I loved those stupid squirrels
I named them Benny and John

Once in a while
My father would wait
And let them eat a bit
Then the thud on the glass
Sent them scurrying away

After a time my father
Stood up from his seat
And gazed through the glass
Breathing heavy and slow
I'll never forget what he said

 "Time, like the seasons
  Is changing the world
  And we must change with it
  Or end up like the squirrels"

The Color of Envy

See the patriot point
His flag
His gun
His eyes toward the sun

The color of envy
Comes straight from the land
Straight from his heart
But white plays a part

It's sewn and it's stitched
The patriots pride
Awake the angelic
And revile in relics

But now set against
What's clear and what's true
A primary loss
His land split across

So here your man dies
Lying inside his lines
Afraid and alone
But he called it home