What You Know
I tried writing some act of -ism
Collected ramblings on genocide
But the metaphor strayed and missed the prism
Illuminated my own divide
Dismissing passion as energy wasted
Gave up religion for Lent
Rebuilt this old engine but never raced it
Examined living ain’t worth the rent
In shallow pools tread wiser fools
No perception of depth, charged the muse
She said to write what you know, and the tune will reveal
You never know what you always knew
But it’s starting to show with every couplet
All I know is you
Revising the past with stets and strikethrus
Heavy weighs the stone of youth
Pandora’s tales of scars and tattoos
Careful is the wish for the truth
Ink floods the page from the pen to the stage
Will the improvised script translate?
You don’t even close the door anymore
You snore like the devil’s repo’d you
Your folks confuse me for the one before
Whose shitty prose reeked of deja-vu
You spoil the sheep but spare the shepherd
You drive like … turtles screw
Your friends hopped a train from the cult of Stepford
Still I wait for the sound of the other shoe
You scorn entertainment that makes you think
Romance means porno and banquet beer
Your products have swallowed my bathroom sink
That thing’s called a Q-tip: hello, ear
You fake your approval when I run long
More than a minute, I’m calling Guinness
You ripped your vows from a Bette Midler song
You cried at the end of The Phantom Menace
You’ll buy nine bags just to get that free one
You bought that tale of the Virgin Jew
You say you know a mistake when you see one
But … all I know is you