I need a helmet to protect my head

I need earphones to hear what gets said

I need a miracle to keep this little thread from snapping



I know a lot about alienated man

But we've all heard as much about that as we can stand

It's just what happens when you let the time span catch you napping



Two forward and one back

Blind fingers groping for the right track

What's to do when a stab and a pat on the back look like the same thing?



Civilization and its discontents

When all's been said and all the money spent

Trying to beat the system of the world's events

Gets you nowhere.



Tired faces with the bus stop blues

Man on a bench with a blanket of news

The young Jamaican joking with the old Jew about women



So many people so lost you feel sorry

But too much pathos just makes you angry

And even though I know who loves me I'm not that much less lost



Black outline, sliding gray scale

Subtle variations of dark to pale

Pearl sky raining light like hail, come on and pierce me

Raining light like a vision of the holy grail, come on and pierce me



Civilization and its...



(Toronto 2/7/81)