Off To The Races

Sitting at a rest stop
In the California desert
The air out here is powdered
The semi trucks all swing
Like featherweights
And the landscape is restless
Only empty wooden boxes
And a few scattered drunken
Rainclouds
Passed out in the sand
And the city lights are glittering
And the satellites
Are littering
The skies with precious jewels
Toxic dyes
And fossil fuels
And if you wanna set me free
Take off your pants
And dance with me
Cuz I am just a girl
A deadly voice
In a dying world;
I wanna watch you get undressed
Your burning bush
Your naked breast
We're out of gas
So be my guest
We're childern of the wilderness

I dunno
Where did all the people go?
It's kinda weird
A billion people disappeared
Daddy wha'd you say?
Mommy up and flew away
I guess we're fuct
Might as well get down
And self-destruct

Sitting on a barstool
In Tucson, Arizona
The bartender smiles at me
Her eyes are like two hand grenades
And clearly she's decided
That I'm dumb enough to trust her
As a wisp of fragrant mustard gas
Rises from her cigarette
And her voice is full of shrapnel
Like she's gargling with bottlecaps
Or the spent and empty canisters
Of recreational inhalants
As she asks me
"who needs love
When you've got unconditional surveillance?"

I dunno
Where did all the people go?
It's kinda weird
A billion people disappeared
Daddy wha'd you say?
Mommy up and flew away
I guess we're fuct
Might as well get down
And self-destruct

Sitting in a makeshift graveyard
In the yellow grasses
Of New Mexico
All the crosses are made of candy canes
And strung with silver
Streamers
And the dreamers have been exiled
Into the outer darkness
Where the tumbleweeds
Blow wild
Through rusted airplane carcasses
And the siren softly calls
The towns all look like flattened hairballs
And all the people full of doubts
Walking around like cardboard cutouts
Faded ink
And frayed around the edges
Skeletons of chicken wire
Their hearts are made of matchsticks
You can see it in their faces
So light 'em up
And start the fire
We're off to the races

I dunno
Where did all the people go?
It's kinda weird
A billion people disappeared
Daddy wha'd you say?
Mommy up and flew away
I guess we're fuct
Might as well get down
And self-destruct

©2009 Nathan Payne