KINDLING ENOUGH

It singes your ears
And it howls in the trees
It singes your ears
And it howls in the trees
There is a violence in you
And a violence in me

There is a barbed-wire fence
Mile high all around
There is a barbed-wire fence
Keeps us both from the town
'Cause, given Kindling Enough,
What would we not burn down?

Friend! It was a big one
You tore the roof off
You set the virus free
Bellowing bile
Anger knit up your brow
Your eyes a happy green
Because where would it go?
Where would it go?
Where would it go, if not out?
Where could it go?
Where could it go, if not out?

You dare equivocate
Yellow flowers with red
Pieces alone with checkmate
Gathered softness for beds
There's not an exception to you
That's at least what I dread.

There is a gale in your ears
And a vacuum between
There is a storm in your ears
Merely air in between
There is a silence in you
And a silence you need.

Friend! It was a quick one
You had to get off
And not without sympathy
You couldn't help it
Or that's what you'd always say
But what does that mean for me?

And when would it go?
When would it go if not now?

I've known the caterwaul
That echoes in your hollow bones
The long, low siren call
The dull, unceasing, seven-year moan
And it's drawing its own lines
And it's blurring its own lines

You may hunch over wood
I may hunch over brass
You may drink from a cup
They may call mine a glass
But neither one will forestall
What must soon come to pass

There is a house on your block
There are trees all around
The same applies to the walk
From my gate to downtown
And there is kindling enough
(what will we not burn down?)