CONSIDERING RODIN

 

To contemplate the Gates of Hell should not be taken lightly.

The bike trails there are all uphill,

You try to fix a flat, but still

You pump, and tires never fill.

The streets in every neighborhood are crowded and unsightly.

 

And yet, I would prefer to pass through portals so untried—

With  yellow jacket frayed  and torn

The gravel roads of nail and thorn

That puncture tires badly worn—

Because it is with friends like you I’d always want to ride.

*    *    *     

 

 

IN DENIAL

 

They say the climate’s changing? Well, they haven’t got a clue.

So, let the polar icecap melt; there’s nothing we can do.

 

Just drive your Hummer where you please no matter what they tell us.

There’s lots of oil in the ground the Arabs want to sell us.

 

Who cares about the debt we have? I’m not afraid to say it.

I really don’t expect to be the one who has to pay it.

 

Taxes are for other guys who can’t get out of payin’.

No one needs the government—you hear what I am sayin’?

 

Crime is running rampant—that was in the news today.

But when we all start packin’ guns, we’ll get along okay.

 

So this is how I see it, and I’ll say it with a smile:

We don't need to go to Egypt, we're already in Denial.