Butterfly Love

Butterflies're not immune,
To the dorsal tube's call,
For the connection to another one,
That will answer it all.

It lives through its stages, like we all do,
Survival on its mind,
Making sense where no real thought is required,
Until a new kind of problem it finds,

The type that threatens all its done so far,
As a poor replacement,
To the width that it could have spread its wings,
If it knew what life meant,

If it had loved,
The way butterflies can,
When they discover the unknown fifth stage,
Which we naively cherish as human.

Les Misérables

Oh, to be Jean Valjean,
There're people at this time,
Imprisoned by this very soci'ty,
For trying to survive,

Dogged by the law once 'caught',
Never given a chance,
A Javert for every cop division,
Ready to strike with lance.

Will the poor, here, rise up against these laws,
That denies most freedom?
They have tried, and they might yet try again,
Bubbles in a cauldron.

So be ready,
Eyes wide for Enjorlas,
What is a life if it's denied its rights?
How many lashes 'til you're furious?

What You've Done

The snow now has fallen,
There is no turning back,
Once done, so many actions are just done,
You can only change tack,

And accept what's been done,
Accept it as a part of who you are,
Like your eyes, skin and nose,
And opinion of war.

You cannot pretend that it wasn't you,
Who did what you had done.
Well, you could but then you're pretending that,
You're an apparition,

That you're not real,
'Cause you only prove that,
By owning the effect you have on life,
For there exists no other kind of fact.

I'll Take It

"If life's an illusion,
I will take it", she said,
And though there isn't any other choice,
It's a nice sentiment.

For though the choices that we actu'lly have,
Only exist within this illusion,
Not wanting to change it,
Is an homage to your situation.

It plants the green grass squarely on your side,
Would that I could join you,
Feeling the blades between our perfect toes,
It's silly to be blue,

When you're alive!
The only other choice,
Is to wish the illusion would transform,
Which means there's a chance I could lose your voice!

Winter Warmth

It is almost here, now,
You see it in the sky,
Clouds plump with snow, the chill air nipping toes.
It's winter passing by!

This is what we waited for all the year,
As kids, aching to be,
Sealed tight in boots, mitts, toques, scarves and snow suit,
Warm and snug as we build, roll, throw and ski.

That is the experience we all share,
And the fire for the new.
You can't live in this Canadian land,
Wanting just summer dew.

You must love cold,
And love the warmth of it.
When all but your kin are frozen in ice,
You learn fast in life what you should covet.

Simple People

You will never know me,
The way that I know me,
Not that that either view's absolutely right,
But, you can ignore me.

So, when I tell you something about me,
There must be some value,
To the nuances that I recognize,
Regardless of how they might seem to you.

We'll agree to disagree on some things,
Outside of you or me,
But I'll not think to know you more than you,
And you do that for me.

'Cause I'm simple,
As I'm sure you are, too.
There's no need to pretend anything else.
Let's let simple people do as they do.

Time Off

Well, it's now the first day,
Of no work for a few,
And, of course, like any other day off,
There is a lot to do,

For as you do those things you need to do,
To make money to live,
Real life continues to move right along,
Demanding that you remain quite restive.

So you have two lives, one to live, one lived,
All to remain alive.
But, where are those moments exper'encing,
The experience of time?

They are nowhere,
Our world has stolen them,
To maintain the structure meant to protect,
Our right to live free of impediments.

Extending Life

What are you doing, now,
That you've recognized that,
Life is as fleeting as the thought of it,
Or the glimpse of a rat?

All your secrets are as enormous as,
The journal of a tick,
And the time you spend pretending they're not,
Doubles the time wasted you could have lived.

Then all you need is a drop of one thing,
To get the paradox,
That you can yet cram an eternity,
Into this tiny box,

All you need's love,
That's what the Beatles sung,
You can love in life, it can be for you.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.

Rear-View Mirror

I've no rear- view mirror,
Some find that quite insane,
It was ripped off years ago by my son,
So I altered my brain.

Don't know what's happ'ning directly behind,
I look left, right and front,
Like bats who have no need of seeing eyes,
I get by with other information.

I imagine there's always someone there,
At my back needing care,
Like memories that made me who I am,
That I don't need to share.

So, if you want,
To drive along with me,
You'll have to learn to look forward, not back,
 I no longer have need for history.

Just Words

There is not much to say,
If you know where you're from.
If anything will be redundancy,
It's this repetition,

Unless you fill your words with irony,
Something you do so well,
And with such joy, it makes me love you more,
Until I've caught every thought you let fell.

But is it my mind, here,
We are talking about?
After all, the ultimate call is mine,
Of the things that you tout.

It's all just words,
Even what I say, here.
In the end, you have friends with whom you can,
Say what you want with abs'lutely no fear.

Arab Spring for Morrissey

Why is Egypt so mad,
About this Morrissey?
His last album was back in two-oh-nine,
And he's okay, to me.

Maybe not as much as in the eighties,
Those open-eyed years when he still sang with,
That band with such sweet angst,
Must I ev'n say out loud the name The Smiths?

The muslims might not like it when he said,
"Break up the family",
Or hurt when said, "You're repressed, but well dressed",
Those for democracy.

I only wish,
That they'll event'lly see,
It doesn't matter what's actually said.
Unite in the spirit of Morrissey.

It's Never Lost

The spirit inside you,
Won't actually die,
No matter how much you feel it's been snuffed,
You've just forgotten why,

You were able to find it, the first place,
Because you were yourself,
And if you can refind yourself, again,
You'll regain mental health.

First you must pretend your world's been erased,
Now try looking around,
The first things that your mind creates for you,
Are things to which you're bound.

Never lose those!
Among life's other things,
That grow fast, like grass, right under your nose,
Making steps forget the source of their spring.

Where Are You Going?

What is it that you see,
For the rest of your life,
The things that stay, and the things that will go,
Job, kids, int'rests and wife?

When you are born there's only potential,
Only species is locked,
While every moment hence, starts to define,
And leaves certain other avenues blocked,

Unless you'd like to defy all the norms,
Some have excelled at that,
And benefited universally,
Others have fallen flat.

Who is to know?
Only your heart can tell,
And it can only ask your mind to know,
If where you're going is acceptable.