Some of my favorite song lyrics and poems, or excerpts thereof.

No Shelter
Rage Against the Machine

The main attraction: distraction
Got ya number than number than numb
Empty ya pockets, son
They got you thinkin' that
What you need is what they sellin'
Make you think that buyin' is rebellin'
From the theaters to malls on every shore
The thin line between entertainment and war
The front line is everywhere
There ain't no shelter here

. . . Cinema, simulated life, ill drama
Fourth Reich culture: Americana
Chained to the dream they got you searchin' for
The thin line between entertainment and war

Hospitals not profit full
Yet market bulls got pockets full
To advertise some hip disguise
View the world from American eyes
The poor adore keep fiendin' for more
The thin line between entertainment and war
They fix the need, develop the taste
Buy their products or get laid to waste
Coca-Cola is back in the veins of Saigon
And Rambo too, he got a dope pair of Nikes on
And Godzilla: pure muthaf---in' filler
To keep ya eyes off the real killer

Cinema, simulated life, ill drama
Fourth Reich culture: Americana
Chained to the dream they got ya searchin' for
The thin line between entertainment and war

American eyes, American eyes
View the world from American eyes
Bury the past, rob us blind
And leave nothin' behind

Just stare
Relive the nightmare

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room;

How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
Christopher Marlowe

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
Or woods or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses,
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds
With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

Thy silver dishes for thy meat
As precious as the gods do eat,
Shall on an ivory table be
Prepared each day for thee and me.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning;
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

I Want You
Third Eye Blind

An open invitation to the dance
Happenstance set the vibe that we're in
No apology because my urge is genuine
And the mystery of your rhythm is so feminine
Here I am, and I wanna take a hit of your scent
'Cause it bit so deep into my soul

Motorcycle Drive-By
Third Eye Blind

Visions of you on a motorcycle drive-by
The cigarette ash flies in your eyes
And you don't mind
You smile, and say the world
It doesn't fit with you
I don't believe you, you're so serene
Careening through the universe
Your axis on a tilt
You're guiltless and free
I hope you take a piece of me with you

. . . I go home to the coast, it starts to rain
I paddle out on the water, alone
Taste the salt and taste the pain
I'm not thinking of you again
Summer dies and swells rise
The sun goes down in my eyes
See this rolling wave, darkly coming
To take me home
And I've never been so alone
And I've never been so alive

Burning Man
Third Eye Blind

Life is not to fear
Life is to enjoy
. . . I live my life like a burning man
And I won't get enough
Until my legs are broken

Semi-Charmed Life
Third Eye Blind

I believe in the sand beneath my toes
The beach gives a feeling, an earthy feeling
I believe in the faith that grows
And the four right chords can make me cry

Sheep Go to Heaven
Cake

As soon as you're born you start dying
So you might as well have a good time

Perfect Example
Simon Says

I've heard about the lies you tell
And it just makes me sick
Do you really think I care?
Makes no difference if you're gone

You're another perfect example
It always makes me feel so good
Hyprocrite never failed to suit you

We all see through your weak mold
There's more than just morals
Your preaching just gets so old
I can't respect the fake passion

Pieces of You
Jewel

She's an ugly girl
Does that make you want to kill her?
She's an ugly girl
Do you want to kick in her face?
She's an ugly girl
She doesn't pose a threat
She's an ugly girl
Does that make you feel safe?

Ugly girl, ugly girl
Do you hate her
'Cause she's pieces of you?

I'm Sensitive
Jewel

I have this theory that if we're told we're bad
Then that's the only idea we'll ever have
Maybe if we are surrounded in beauty
Someday we will become what we see
'Cause anyone can start a conflict
It's harder yet to disregard it
I'd rather see the world from another angle
We are everyday angels
Be careful with me, 'cause I'd like to stay that way