We Swallow the Rain

So funny it’s almost cruel, but not quite

So happy to be the fool, but in time

You slick the road with your own intestines

Closing your fist around glass that’s destined

To tear you apart from the inside;

We swallow the rain with our eyes.

***

So lucky it’s a faithless ruse, you’ll find

So many of the shameless rubes, aligned

With the knotholes in the cedar fences

Avoiding culture’s consequences

To tear you apart from the outside;

We swallow the pain with our lies.

***

So muggy it’s almost wet, but not quite

So hungry to get out of debt, that in time

You stick to your shirt profusely sweating

Cutting up deals with loan sharks betting

You’ll collapse and fall to the wayside;

They’ll swallow the sane when they rise.

***

So stuck inside a nameless bruise, you’ll find

So many of the blameless shoes, aligned

With the footprints on the gravel beaches

Fleeing from the fattened leeches

That suck your blood from every side;

We’ll swallow the shame when we die.