We've murdered "Goodbye"
With our ball point pens and summer vacations.
Now all that's left of it is a shell,
A crater created by etiquette and empty promises.
We've stuffed it full of double intentions,
Filled it with unspoken "I love you"s, and "I'm sorry"s.
Our fear of leaving has left its muddy handprint
On the innocence of closure.
We've dragged it by it's syllables,
Drawing out each letter until the sound becomes muffled and obscure,
The very epitome of all it stands for.
Goodbye should be whispered in the final moments of one's presence,
Not proclaimed in shopping malls and late night diners.
The more we try to save it,
The further it sinks into causality.
The deeper that we engrave it,
The more goodbye parts with reality.

Just when I thought (frown),
'I'll never see you again',
I hear you are back in town.
In memories I finally drown,
can we go back to "then"?
Just when I thought (frown),
'you'll always bring me down'.
I don't know where you've been,
I hear you are back in town.

Young and in love, me the clown,
I always "remember when"
just when I thought (frown).
Nine years ago my world turned upside down,
six years since your blue eyes, your grin.
I hear you are back in town,
"my first love", you wear that crown.
Of all the emotions suppressed, I feel chagrin,
just when I thought (frown),
I hear you are back in town.

make another joke
while their sobs they choke

point out their difference
while they lose their balance

shove another push
their darkness screams hush

spread another rumor
this is not humor

scream another name
but for their blood you will be to blame

soon nothing will hurt
their body will be six feet under in dirt

.              frothing.
    
                                 seething.

                                                  roiling.

    ­                                                            a tempest
  
                                                                ­                       brewing.

                                                       ­                                                  anger

                                                          ­                                                            strik­es

                                                             ­                                                                 ­      like

                                                     ­                                                                 ­                        lightning

In a blind of an eye,
we were flying with pigs
and swimming with pigeons.

Marching alongside famous carcasses
and singing gospels with the Pharisees.
We stood on water
and bathe on the pyroclastic flow.

A flock of ants gave us clothing,
as the army of sheep gave us a scolding.

We drank the Nile ‘till we got thirsty
and Bismarcked our way into the Revolution
and fought the Bolsheviks
alongside Lenin.

We cooked the ***,
cooked it right down to the marrow
until we were walking down to heaven
to rescue Rasputin.

Overlooking eucalyptus groves,
we made love,
while they were out with bullets
searching for a truce.

Johnny can't join
his daddy has no car
Michael can't join
they don't like his shoes
Ahmed can't join
he has a funny name
Bobby can't join
supports the wrong team

"What's going on?"
bellows the red-faced teacher
"You can't treat each other like this!
"Have you ever been excluded?
"Yes?
"And how
"did it make you feel?"

He ushers them in, muttering
though somewhat gratified
by the shame in their eyes

Then herds them through
to assembly
where the guest of honour
is the minister
who proceeds to explain
to the obediently seated rows
that if they don't see things his way
they will be eternally,
terrifyingly
and agonisingly excluded
from the great big party in the sky

And the teacher hangs his head
in baffled complicity,
defeated.