89

12.6.06

Slowly, as a marching band enters, the HERALD reads a scroll…

HERALD
WHAT COULD YOU BECOME IN THE AGE OF FUN
WHEN THE SUN SHONE DOWN WITH TERRIBLE DECAY AND LIGHT?
BUT A FIBER IN THE YARN THAT THE EARTH HAD SPUN
YOU WON WHAT YOU HAD WON WITHOUT PUTTING UP A FIGHT
AND YOUR EARLY DAYS WERE FILLED WITH LIFE AND YOUTH AND HOPE
IN YOUR LATER YEARS YOU THINK YOU’LL FIND IT ALL A TROPE
BUT YOU PLEDGED AN OATH WHEN YOU DECIDED YOU’D ELOPE
AND THAT’S WHY YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A CHILD
WHAT COULD YOU ACHIEVE WHEN ALL YOU DO IS CHEAT
SINCE CHEATERS RAISED YOUR CHEATING WAYS SINCE YOU WERE SMALL?
BUT YOU FAILED LOVE’S ONLY TEST IN YOUR QUEST TO BEAT IT
CHEATING MADE YOU LOSE THE GRADE, AND SO YOU LOST IT ALL
AND YOU RELEARN THINGS YOU ALREADY KNEW, FOR LOVE
IN YOUR DIARY YOU DRAW AN ACCOUNT OF THINGS YOU DO FOR LOVE
BUT YOU SAID SOMETHING YOU HARDLY THOUGHT WAS TRUE, FOR LOVE
AND THAT’S WHY YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A CHILD
WHAT COULD YOU HAVE SEEN BEYOND THE GLAMOUR OF THE KING?
WHAT DIAMONDS COULD YOU FIND WHEN THE ROUGH IS MIRED IN GOLD?
IN THE VALLEY OF THE FLASHBULBS AND OTHER SHINY THINGS
THE CARPET’S RED WITH YOUR DEAD BLOOD MAKING YOU GROW OLD
AND YOU REPEAT STEPS THAT YOU ALREADY WALKED IN YOUR GAIT
THROUGH THE CORRIDORS AND OUR THE DOOR AND PAST THE GATE
BUT YOU TOLD HIM RIGHT BEFORE HE LEFT THAT YOU COULD WAIT
AND THOSE LIES HAVE LEFT YOUR LOVE DEFILED
BREAKS YOU BRAIN AND MAKES YOU HEART BEAT WILD
AND YOU’LL GROW UP DIM AND CARELESS AND MILD
WHEN YOU COULD HAVE TOPPLED THE TOP OF THE PILE
AND THAT’S WHY YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A CHILD