The King Laments (part 5)

Into the great house of God
Up the steps, into the foyer
Odd, it’s pretty bright up ahead in that room
Stop for a moment, think, think, think
And then don’t think anymore for a while
That, my friend is feasting in style

The fools go in to say things, to ask questions
Such important things to say to God
To rant, to rave, mostly they don’t know
How to just be. They have no real clue
The things they really, and truly do.

Quiet, listening, searching, emptiness
Take time, to just be, to listen, to just keep
Hold my freaking breath, as it puts off my freaking death
Time with the Spirit of the ages
The mountain of wisdom from the sage of the sages
What do you really have to say, anyway?
For me, not a damned thing.
I just want God to let me pull the rope to make
The big bell ring, now that would be cool

Most sleepless nights
I dream when my mind won’t shut down
My dreams are not any kind of wisdom
Just rattling around, the crap on the ground
The ravings of a fool, so many words
So many things out loud to the universe
Screamed out boldly as if I had anything to say to the planets

Instead, emptiness, hard to come by,
Lay it down they say, how do I do that in just one moment
In just one lost and lonely day?
But silence and emptiness is gold
It is better, by far, than the meaningless vapors
The meaningless drivel of my own soul
Worse my mind, when it utters a lie
To cover the fact or to hide
My foolishness

Surely I can’t promise anything, say anything,
But my word better be my damned word if I do
Or damned I will be, because, who’s house am I in after all?
Fools rush in and promise the freaking world
Just to get a nod, for a god they barely even believe in
Simpletons, and wanting to die for all time.

I would rather make no promise, no statement
No opinion, things I never really meant, like kindling
I would rather come out of this great house
Having stolen wisdom and words from the creator
The one who placed the stars in the skies and named them all
Then to pretend I have anything at all to offer
Light it up, burn it down, fuel from my own foolish desire
My dreams, my thoughts, are liars
My promises, my intentions, most of them good, but
Still all vapors of lies.
How can I say even one true thing, before I die?

Everything I do then becomes a lie if I open my mouth.
I will stand then, instead
Quiet and dead, open my eyes
Listen with my heart and just
Live in the words and thoughts of God

Rest in the arms of the One
And of this great house of His and His spirit
Which has roamed these halls for all time.
And all of mine, tick tock, going to the fire
So . . . words are crap, and burn brighter.

I look at the hungry, the left out
The poor people all lined up
And I see the proud and mighty standing over
Watching like vultures instead of healers
The King, well, candidly makes his due as well
It costs a lot to keep this great palace of mine
And to have a golden chair on which to rest my behind

I see the lovers of money and things
And once that bell rings in a heart
The heart has a bottomless hole for more
Like an whore, an addiction, the more I have the more I want
And it’s all meaningless vapor, shadows of meaning.
Fading.

The better the economy gets in good times, the more people want
The more we all try to keep, and spend and horde, and pile
I sit naked on my pile of gold, and see and feel only old, and still
My pay is the way it feels to sit naked on cold cash
Gives me a stupid rash, and I should have known
Leaves me empty, and cold.

But the times I roll up my sleeves, and sweat a bit
Trying hard to make something happen
I don’t think so much about how much I will collect
Eat, keep, or pile up, so much as
I think, look at this thing that I have done
Look at the pride of the father for the son
Look at the way I feel when its finished.
I go to sleep tired and satisfied from the toil of that day
And sleep, in a sleepy and full kind of way

But when a man sits on his pile of cash
When he thinks about all of his things
He lies awake and has more of those meaningless
And frightful dreams
Will someone take my gold
Will someone leave me old and in need
Will someone come and steal all my things?
I would just like to die while I have my eyes
On the prize, when money is all that I strive
I would die, for all time

So naked came first, from my mother’s womb
And naked I go to the tomb.
Nothing gold came with me
Nothing gold will rot with me
In the grave, but my nakedness, is the only reality.

So I dance naked instead
Celebrate my nothingness
Because there will be no UHaul to the grave
SO pretty much I have figured out
That all of this crap
Is just vapor and meaningless
And all of this will just fade.

The more I have in my pile
The more I sit in darkness by myself and while
The hours go, and the riches grow
My heart, dies a little more every day
And I know, I too will not make the grade
When I simple fade

Till I got it!
I understood it!
I worked hard, made some cash, and threw a bash
The end of a good days work rave
And jumped out of the grave
And partied with my friends, and ate and drank
But bring along your poor and your needy
Let’s do a good days work, for a good days pay
And then lets rock and roll and share the
Party the night away.

Let’s do the dance of a day’s joy
Keep only what we need that day and night
Smoke it, burn it, and share it
And party like its 1999
Not to party sake, but to celebrate
The day’s work is good

The grace is enough from a God
Who gets the worship, and praise
From our, days work bash
And from all of our nights and our days
Where we celebrate, and lift our hearts and hands to the sky
On a bon fire, hot and bright, burning through the night
That in part, is fueled with gladness of heart
And burning up all the extra foolishness

God keeps me busy, with gladness and gratitude
No time to be rude, no time to horde food
Let’s just invite more the day’s work bash
And tomorrow we’ll work even harder for cash
So we can invite more to the party
So more can eat hearty, for all the days of our lives
That, my friend, is not meaningless
That is the “rest of the story,”
That is a reflection of Glory I may not ever understand
But the manna in hand, passing out through the land
And filling every stomach with food, and every heart with praise!
For all of our nights, and for all of our days!
And that never fades.