Return of the Fool
“Well, old man, I’m back
From southern California.
Ah, the warm sunshine
So delighted my senses
That I forgot who I was.
I tried that green stuff
Sold just about everywhere,
And guess what happened?
Disneyland came in my brain,
And spun me for a fast ride.
I’m back now, old friend,
Returned to torture your mind.
Fool that I still am
Couldn’t leave you frozen alone
Somewhere in Montana—fool!”
Why call me fool, Fool?
I know Bach from Beethoven,
Plato from Nietzsche,
But I just don’t quite know yet
Who I am, so help me, Fool!
“You, toothless wonder,
What good is book-learnin’, dude,
Not knowing your face
Or the old soul within you,
And what a fool you have been!
You forgot yourself
Without taking a long toke--
You tried to wrestle
A well-seasoned old cowboy
And his rancher-woman, too,
Now look at yourself!
Is that cow manure I see
Smeared on your back side
Or just some mud and horse shit
From trying to play rancher?”
You obnoxious Fool,
Maybe I’m learning at last
To avoid manure
When wrestling with old cowboys
Who know how to rope a steer.
Now, my foolish friend,
Take a drive north toward Belt,
Visit a farmer
Whose sharp-biting bitter tongue
And foolishness matches yours.
27 January 2020
From southern California.
Ah, the warm sunshine
So delighted my senses
That I forgot who I was.
I tried that green stuff
Sold just about everywhere,
And guess what happened?
Disneyland came in my brain,
And spun me for a fast ride.
I’m back now, old friend,
Returned to torture your mind.
Fool that I still am
Couldn’t leave you frozen alone
Somewhere in Montana—fool!”
Why call me fool, Fool?
I know Bach from Beethoven,
Plato from Nietzsche,
But I just don’t quite know yet
Who I am, so help me, Fool!
“You, toothless wonder,
What good is book-learnin’, dude,
Not knowing your face
Or the old soul within you,
And what a fool you have been!
You forgot yourself
Without taking a long toke--
You tried to wrestle
A well-seasoned old cowboy
And his rancher-woman, too,
Now look at yourself!
Is that cow manure I see
Smeared on your back side
Or just some mud and horse shit
From trying to play rancher?”
You obnoxious Fool,
Maybe I’m learning at last
To avoid manure
When wrestling with old cowboys
Who know how to rope a steer.
Now, my foolish friend,
Take a drive north toward Belt,
Visit a farmer
Whose sharp-biting bitter tongue
And foolishness matches yours.
27 January 2020