COINCIDENCE

I see you up there, strutting your indulgence,

All rage and testosterone. Life has been tough,

And an angry rant makes you feel like the man,

More powerful, in control. You tell the truth-no lie

Your version, that is, the gospel, according to yourself-

But it isn’t good news. It’s pain and pretention, Neverland

Delivered to a throbbing back beat, percussive and loud,

As if your heartsound has to be amplified exponentially

To make it real.

You remind me of kids playing at wild Indians

Gotten up and fancied, whooping and hollering,

In your iconic finery so everyone will think it’s real

As you do your war dance in the colored spotlights,

Hoping to take yourself and your followerrs somewhere

They’ve never been before, a Nirvana of excess and destruction,

Mindless. Guess what? You’re not there yet, nowhere near.

You’ve a long way to go, and I hope you never get

To where you say you’re going..

I’ve been among the savages, my friend, trust me.

I can tell you that the real is so much more horrifying

Than any inferno your mind can conjure up, or try to palm

Off to the unsuspecting and naïve as what’s really happening,

Because it ain’t. There be real dragons in those places,

Monsters beyond any you’ve ever encountered, and the bitch is

That the worst is the one the mirror reflects back at you,

Always willing to teach the amateurs and the wannabes

How to play for keeps.

Chip Bergeron

April 15, 2010