Zelda overheard the question

Celebration beer in hand, 

the stranger sat next to Scott and asked about the Paris weather.

Zelda overheard the question and threw her drink

at the face of the questioner.

"How dare you?" she demanded,

"Who ever cares!"

as soon as she finished her last word, she went

to replace her drink.

the weather improved in her absence.

but just as soon as she left, she returned,

drink in hand.  

Scott had a drink in hand, too,  and one resting on 

an adjacent table.  

he liked having a simple choice. 

Scott saw Duncan walk in with a young man who

was half her age and decided to introduce himself.

when Zelda saw him knell before the aging dancer, she yelled,

"How dare you?"

"Who ever cares!"

and she ran from the room, drink in hand, and threw herself from

the nearest balcony.  

the weather improved in her absence.

instead of working nine to five

turn off the lights

and let them freeze,

and in the cold morning air

when they finally say please,

fly my drones into their dreams!

death to man brought by my machines!

it's only my way of feeling alive

instead of working nine to five,

i toss children in the fire

and there's so much more that i require:

polishing my shoes while i adjust my tie.

day or night there's millions more to pacify,

don't let them tell you otherwise!

i can rain death down from the skies,

sipping coffee with a notebook by my hand;

there's nothing i need to understand.

don't let them steal you blind.

i'm the genius mastermind

who paints the pale moon blue,

wrecks the house, attacks the avenue. 

i'm so good i'm bad!

i'm your mother i'm your dad!

don't let them tell you otherwise!

i can rain death down from the skies,

sipping coffee with a notebook by my hand;

there's nothing i need to understand.

i'm the man in total command!

you're the tool;

you're the complete fool

while i'm playing it cool.

it's only my way of feeling alive

instead of working nine to five,

i toss children in the fire

and there's so much more that I require:

polishing my shoes while i adjust my tie,

day or night there's millions more to pacify.

on the path of courage

it's not always the one

that the greater society flatters

that in the short or long run

matters

on the path of courage:

there's the city tax collector and the forest bridge troll

collecting a toll

in relative obscurity

but at a steady pace

sometimes dressed modestly or all crimson and lace;

and there's the unheralded stage hands

preparing a venue for various bands

watching an early audience file in and take their seats

in anticipation of musical beats

which might help them make it through another day,

and some self-question if they'll stay

as the going seems personally rough,

yet they rally, dig deeper, stay tough

like the musical King

or Queen

or Prince

partaking in our great moveable feast

that passes from the most important among us

to the mouths of the very least;

and into the hallway mirror we often gaze and wonder:

does it matter if the world is silent or howling like thunder?

can we stay simple and recognize the magic of an overhead sky?

can we listen with our hearts to hear the world's brave babies cry?

and we cry as well 

and we laugh and we succeed and we fail

looking into our palm and seeing the nail

but knowing it's not bent

and it won't be bent

and we're spending our lives together, 

but we're not spent

on the path of courage,

where the handmade mozzarella melts 

and we tighten our memory of leather belts

searching for that perfect hole to fasten and hold,

being curious in spite of it all

as we're growing old

on the path of courage.

save the baby!

save the baby!

that was a cry from the next room

and i had to assume

it was for me but it could have been for you

we went together looking for a clue

we saw rusted tanks and bombed out cribs

skinny men with exposed ribs

and old men with the saddest eyes

consumed by the constant lies

their tears flooded the street

we felt the dead heat

like an immense weight in our hands

everywhere we looked we saw badlands

everything was being taken

chewed up and forsaken...

in our heads we saw dark clouds and felt the stinging hail

in the palm of our hands we felt the nail

and the cold freezing our skin 

you looked without while i looked within

and it slowly dawned on me that the sky would remain blood red

all the babies had fled

into a story book where another ending would be penned

make-believe and the terrible world of pretend

and the fog soon to descend:

save the baby!

you took a temporary seat and sat

no where in the pouring rain

is there an answer for the way you look.

there's no happy ending inside your pocket book,

so when you turned out your cat,

you took a temporary seat and sat.

you saw the town square was full of sharks and clowns

who took advantage of summer weddings and bridal gowns,

and the game wasn't fair;

there was no innocent playground there!

no real news for the online shoppers' blues

when they drop their pants, 

imagining an hour of private romance.

when the lights are dimmed and the drinks seem free,

you walk into a busy room and immediately agree

with whatever you're told;

you're acting young but you're growing old

with hair in your nose and gray, colorless eyes,

spending all your money on the latest and the newest disguise.

you've seen it all;

up and down the temperance hall,

on the lowest level or up on the roof,

everybody you meet is drinking from a bottle of 100 percent proof

but you've never tried a sip

until someone offered you a piece of lip;

and you knew you were cursed

when you fell into the wishing well headfirst

and found it bone dry!

there was no need to apply

for a job on the unemployment line;

no new words for you to define.

you've come a long way to find yourself,

watching the late show from an empty library shelf

and nobody came to lend you a hand

'cause reading between the lines had been permanently banned,

and the game wasn't fair;

there was no innocent playground there!