But the Stars, 1996

I rough and tumbled
with everything
my brother, dogs, his friends
my friends

we rolled leaves and smoked them
woke up horses in the middle of the night
climbed roof tops
broke windows
stole hams from the super market
crashed an Italian wedding

hell on wheels

hell of a good time

nobody told me
it would change

what does Dennis-the-Menace in curls
do at 43?

everyone went away
went away to other places
went away and got married
got jobs got a house
got a schedule that they looked at first
when I asked if they'd come out and play

now my body doesn't want to anymore
and I look down, betrayed

when I went to university I listened to the mumble mumble
dead voices, dead thoughts
and did a dance on desk tops
in my mind
one of the best classes I ever went to

It doesn't prove nothing
doesn't prove thatI should have
should have played less
played more by the rules
or you come to this
Dennis-the-Menace holed up in the woods

doesn't prove that there's another way
a better way
a more-like-everybody-else way

doesn't prove that lawlessness
makes better humans or better lives
or even better freedom

but the stars know
nothing gets added
and nothing gets taken away
and above all
nothing gets wasted

with love
Lora, 1996.