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Gorge on Fire

by Volcker

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1.
Care 03:36
The flag was hung at half mast But I couldn't remember which tragedy we were honoring today. By the time I made it back to my desk I never even bothered to care to ask. Every picture on my wall A flag of a country where I’ll never go. Reduced to pixels on a screen Helps me forget whatever I’ve seen. The man dropped the mother in some fucking valley, whether he knew it or not it changes a lot. But not for me. So why don’t I care? It’s the low grade pull of the panic running all through my body. Scrolling past another 19 dead. Only pause to think if I might know anybody. I want to want to take to the streets But I know it no longer means anything I want to want to raise the black flag But I’m comfortable in complacency Every joy that I have comes at the terrible cost Of the immense pain of someone I don’t know Why don’t I act? Why don’t I care? Anybody who knows me knew someone that cared, but knows it's growing late I was 17 years old when words changed When trust turned to panic My first friend died in some desert Now I am tattered beaten and broken The colors don't run But they fade.
2.
Gaol 03:00
Heavy wrist pinch can’t breath No one's coming home tonight Bed sits cold empty Stars fade peek light Third strike breaks a family Different when it’s powder Weeping as the verdict is signed Ink dries a family shattered A mop of curls eyes on the page He asked “Is jail a good place to be?” I asked him why he’d even ask The answer that I knew hung heavily “My dad’s in jail, gets three a day” Said straight, eyes down, unwavering “Sometimes my mom can’t make dinner And I go to bed hungry” Thug. Dealer. Hood. Thief. I only see a seven year old Homework’s off the radar Another phone call from the principal Inside he draws lions and trees Outside draws sideways glances Forced into a box by people Who never gave any chances
3.
The ocean rose and drank until it had its fill The only thing I can't replace Under the waves each morning into the murk and chill Every night I see her face She's out there somewhere under the water My child pulled out to sea on a wave The tide can make no claim to my daughter Won't let that seafloor end up her grave We walk down to the pier before the sun comes up A tank in my hand, a meal in hers I'll teach them how to breathe and dive to make my way Search every inch until I'm sure
4.
Parsing through whatever you put out 'cause I said that I would Nothing here is workable at scale, cost, or schedule Aim lower, look lower, keep your head down And in twenty short years you get a watch and a check Good for you for finding a point of view And idealistic goals without a sense of follow through I wish I lived in a world that worked the way you think it does I’m not a cynic but a realist that’s already fallen Because I’ve seen more than you Been around long enough to know when it’s over Before it began Underneath your best of intentions Lies a green little boy who’s in over His head Shoot for the stars but a shooting star is just a bit of dust burning up on reentry I’m not trying to discourage you, or maybe I am Speaking as someone who once held his own ideals The world is neither good nor bad but indifferent People more concerned with theirs than yours and I think that’s alright
5.
Gray ghost whisper of my name What’s on the ground, it’s on the ground Floor beast of a time before Now a crowd is gathering around Betrayal belies a beast Thick rubber gloves where you were found Foul limp bemoan of importance Same as you came, City left less than sound Dark gray. Wrapped up Vacant hole where you came from Final choices Hazy. Cold numb Teeth bared. Eyes shut Lips pulled back in a dark grin Last chance. Lost sound In a heap end and begin Dead fox in City Hall Dark and cold, light peaks from the lid Thick rubber gloves left you unbound No one is talking about this No ceremony just uncrowned Help me know how this ends Too dry to be drowned Upside down in the bin This is too small of a town
6.
Left Behind 04:25
November comes the victors made Burning loss now resigned Fifty and one can govern now Nearly half are left behind Ticker tape slowly falls Mixed with dust and dirt and snow Cast their ballot into the sea It lands on their feet when no winds blow There’s a way when there’s a will Will they set the bridge on fire? The party is barricaded atop They made the bed that’s now their pyre Between the bigot and the broad They chose the us versus them Built to a fury, froth and yell Won’t be left behind again Every man must be prepared at times to spit on his hands, raise the black flag and begin to slit throats.
7.
Forsaken 04:06
Put your hands on your wallet And put the money in the basket On your knees, cross yourself Forget the body and the blood Like Peter turned upside down Locked down, forgiven We all get taxed in the end And no one is exempt Our father who art forsaken In every action followers taken If it makes you feel better, what can I say Be proud, in public don't whip it out Keep it to yourself, It's better that way And don't try and shove it down my child's throat You need tall tales to tell you you're special To fill that hole where thought should dwell Ignore the text, stigma over dogma Use the words of peace to damn them to hell Have you ever seen what a shepherd does? He controls the masses With a stick in a field of simple minds And they thank him for the grasses Have you ever read the book you tout? Contradiction amasses Translations and edits Preaching judgment that passes Take that holy bath I'll stick with my worldly math Order of operations says To multiply before you divide You've taken a different approach To handling the huddled masses Start with division, us against them Threaten, cajole, rage, and sin
8.
We needed 37 of you fuckers To save us from this mess You slack jawed rust belt mother fuckers You failed the fucking test He prayed on your weakness Made you think we'd be the best But 37 of you fuckers could've fixed it You're cowards like the rest You're the worst of all of us You're responsible for what comes next You saw it all unwind There’ll be blood on your hands and it's your fault You'll watch the dream collapse and the mushroom clouds arise But you're too fucking dumb to recognize That all of this That all of this That this is all your fault

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released May 5, 2018

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Volcker Portland, Oregon

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