Ishmael Contemplates his Life

Crack all my back bones

and bite your knives in two,
the civil defense alarm
has blown its warning for you;
and if you won’t hear it,
well, there’s nothing more I can do.

The boatmen on the lake
are crashing through the waves
but the whale they’re chasing
is diving for their graves,
and if you won’t come down
there’ll be no one left to save.

Summer is gone now
and winter is on its way.
We had no autumn though,
no golden riot colored days;
the trees forgot their splendor
and went from green to grey.

Ignore for the moment
that I have torn my sleeve,
and teach me this lesson
tell me what I should believe,
why is it you only speak
to tell me you’re going to leave?