THE LONG GOODBYE To say goodbye is to die a little A paper cuts while Nero fiddles. A brother born sucks on his thumb Plots and plans his things to come. To say hello is to lay down arms Put hate away say here’s to charms. A vote cast, might as well not bother They have us fighting one another. To say I do, is to turn and pray That two will through a daily day. The plays the thing and the beastly burden Is shuffling onward til the final curtain. To say I can, I will, I must Before the end of common trust. This songs still sung and we know the air Writ by the loser in their despair. To do this or that or what have you done Accountability for the lies he spun. His knife sticking through my raw throat is that him leaving with my new coat? Oh brother, brother, where art thou? Out in the field with cow and plough. Burying hope under tree and bushes You have killed, but the earth still pushes. To say I'm guilty, yes I done This little thing but oh what fun. But there's a print, a fingertip That wrote your name and now it's writ. A thief, a liar, a haberdasher A bad house guest, the plates the smasher. The jeer, the sneer, the welch on bills In love and grief I vomit chills. It’s too damn long, it's too damn high It’s too short, short, short we gonna hie Who dies last is that the winner? I'll be at your funeral if you pay for dinner. Copyright John Munnelly May 2022
Oh Man Dear...