broken telephone

~

VALLEY o’ DEMOCRACY #31

rawclyde

!

~

Sitting in the desert wacking-off don’t really do it for me

it woulda’ been betta’ to have let ‘de first one lead me to matrimony

n’ I shoulda’ finished college n’ chewed steadily on ‘de ol’ job bone

but after all that, I still coulda’ ended up in ‘de desert alone

~

In the desert alone, in the desert alone, in the desert alone

that’s what ‘de message say when you call me on ‘de broken telephone

he ain’t here no mo’ n’ nobudda’ stop him when he done go

he shoulda’ woulda’ coulda’ but the wind do-done blow

~

No buddy really care n’ I don’t expect any buddy to

I jus’ writin’ fo’ me but if ye’ want ye’ can read it too

I ‘tink a man ought learn to stand alone to a certain degree

I may be over doin’ it, but so be in-div-i-du-al-i-ty

~

True love wit’ a woman gotta be ‘de greatest thing on earth

n ‘de nex’ greatest ‘ding must be when she up n’ give birth

to a kid or two or 10 ‘dat you both can call yer own

but me, well, fo’ me ‘dat ain’t how ’til now me life hath grown

~

Remembuh too ‘dat each kid born ‘eez anudder belly to feed

n’ yo’ gonna have tuh work haw’d to fulfill ‘dat ‘dare need

as fo’ me, I gotta kinda work haw’d too jus’ stayin’ alive

gotta theenk sum & do sum things right jus’ to, uh, to so’vive

~

And know ‘dis:  ye don’t have ‘tuh get rich to be, to be happy

jus’ keep ‘de family or jus’ yourself goin’ & keep kinda scrappy

n’ remembuh love of sum kind for sumpin’ is yor’ link to God

God & nature are yo’ foundation; remembuh give ’em an occasional nod

~

In fact, why not keep ’em in mind always & serve ’em when ‘evah yuh can

make yo’ life into a natchural prayer ~ dat’s ‘de best way to be a man

a prayer dat’s alive every second, trippin’ & fallin’ down

n’ gettin’ up n’ amblin’ along n’ sleepin’ in your burrow in ‘de ground

~

These things I been contemplatin’ for some time in ‘de desert here

n’ fo’ God’s sake n’ yer own, please, don’t guzzle too much beer

thar’s already too many drunks staggerin’ ’round full o’ baloney

ready to take yer money in exchange for nuttin’ but a “thanks” dats phoney

~

In fact, dat’s a great disrespect to their own poverty

treatin’ it like dirt n’ fallin’ down on responsibility

if yer not rich, treat your poverty like a blessed thing

n’ it’ll treat you right most times n’ hand n’ hand with it ye can sing:

~

~

I’m a po’ man but I don’t care, I’m a po’ man, a po’ man

I’m a po’ man but I shan’t care, I’m a po’ man, a po’ man

I’m a po’ man ‘dat nobudduh’ care ’bout, po’ man, po’ man

I’m one blessed po’ man though, so, catch me if you cannnnnnn

Little Coyote

“Tear out my heart and toss it into the air!”

valley of democracy no. 30

rawclyde

!

Now I can say I’ve experimented with poverty

here in the shameless Valley of Our Democracy

and, you know, poverty really isn’t such a bad gal

if you respect her & are willing to be her pal

~

Dad Dole & Brother Bill had their election today

we’re all fond of Dad but Bill is here to stay

Dole & the World War II generation are on their way

I wish ’em luck beyond the veil & have appreciated their worthy say

~

But it’s time for us jolly bahbah boomers to get on our feet

& drive the Valley of Democracy to the next track meet

& there we will win or lose in the great game of our planet’s life

so may God help your kids while Lucifer is pokin’ yer wife

(Copyright Clyde Collins 1999)

valley o’ democracy no. 29

rawclyde

!

Lizard babe, just crawl into my beckoning hand

we’ll dart from bush to bush across this thorny land

we’ll make love below the Big Dipper in the diamondy sky

lizard babe, jus’ cuz’ you got funky scales, don’t be shy

~

You’re such a lean reptile with such a slender tail

when you dart n’ wiggle it my heart do almost fail

from lot to lot I love to watch you swiftly go

’til you scamper back and finally let me knowwwwwww

!

I’m the one for you when you’re all wore out

jus’ wiggle all over my face & I won’t shout

I’ll lick you clean of all the mean that you have glean

’til you’ve forgotten every other man you have ever seen

~

Lizard babe, let me be your desert squirrel

let me welcome you into my underground burrow

you can curl up next to me for all of eternity

and still go out & run from camp to camp gleefully

(Copyright Clyde Collins 1999)