Cattail Down

Cattail Down, the morning rail yard whistle blows
Cattail Down, our boxcar bound for no-one-knows
after every hidden seed
out from its covering has been freed
when every book has been discarded from the bookshelf
Cattail Down, in the forgetting of myself
Cattail Down, replace the feathers in our vest
Cattail Down, surround the ivy that's gone to poison in my chest
the Parachutes broke loose!, cried the Goose
with misplaced (but understandable) concerns
for his little Brother's mental health,
his happy little Brother
in the forgetting of himself
Cattail Down, the pollen shed around the bulrush
Cattail Down, to dress my wounds, left a Bee sting in their stead
headed east out of St. Paul we stopped for water,
rested in the cemetery, watched the Mississippi
running out of food stamps,
found a bag along the footpath off hwy 61
filled with what looked like marijuana

[don't worry, Dad, we left it there...]

hopped a grainer out of Pig's Eye twd Milwaukee
the Deer between the tower and the tracks
saw right through us, said:
you don't know where you came from,
you don't know where you're going.
you think you're you?
no, you don't know who you are,
you're not you...
you're Everyone Else
(in the forgetting of your self )