Stars and Stripes Forever

by Stephen W. Cote

The First Piece Of The Prayer

Believe me I meant no harm
When I committed this last wrong
With all premeditation and intention
I've been the villain all along
But this time it has to stop
This time ...

Shadows In The Dark (part I)

I watched you sleuth and stealth
Through the dark
The room was as cold and still as the stone
I met your eyes in the heat and stench
Shaking your shirt
Reaching for the truth in your heart so alone

Nobody will love your shadows in the dark
Slipping through the park
After we've all gone home and left you alone
There is an end to your shadows in the dark
Somewhere inside of me
Tarnished and rusty, beating in my heart

We soon embraced each other in Gabriel's jests
But it won't be enough
The lights will leave us with shadows in the dark
We won't become the friends we mean to be
Until we set down that last toast
And call it quits for the day

Shadows In The Dark (part ii)

It takes a strong man to see it
It takes a foolish man to be it
The strong are fooled to fancy it
The fooled are felled by living it

The artists make their "renditions"
And the poets find their "cognitions"
But their art meant nothing in the end
Only disillusioned products of maladjusted minds

Their art is a lazy way
A masterpiece painted on someone else's canvas
An elegant script flourished and dotted on another's napkin
Is it art at all?

All that is left in the end
Is the gaunt expression in the mirror
An empty plate of food, no friends
And their sober expression in the mirror

The Second Piece Of The Prayer

They are all waiting for me to tell them hello
The friends I made long ago
But I gave more to them than my silence
Beneath the comforting, demonic halo
I spoke about them in distant tones
They are friends worth more than a momentary penance

The Faces Of My Flag (part I)

There came one man upon the cobbled road
Carrying carrion over his hulk and a lime light
He beckoned me to enter the phantasmagoric city
And throw away everything I knew was right

I was embraced by arms that were not mine
They told me lies through our mutual minds
Orange tangs of light captivated the corners of our eyes
And I could not follow him further

The flags were painted with millions of faces
Trying to tell me: "Turn back, turn away!"
But it was too late, alas. I had to enter
The Wicked City, before I knew I had to flee.

Faces Of The Flag (part II)

Memories passed me by
Followed by history
and society

Layers and pieces fluttered
Away from the clutter
Of memory

In the very end
There was just me
And that means everything

But what a cost
And what a loss
Will my friends wait for me in the end?

Kiss my casts
Kiss my misgivings
Forgive me for forgetting you

The Third Piece Of The Prayer

Meet me out for coffee
We'll talk about those things we used to
When I only had your trust and comfort
And not this guilt of sinister dark ages

We'll sing those glorious songs
And learn from the mistakes we've all made
Because nobody should have to live this way
Day in, day out, from day to day to day.

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Last Updated: Feb 18, 1996