the generation across the street brings their american flags in before the storm a row of elderly citizens doing their part to respect their symbol of freedom of death of our young daughters and sons setting up an outpost of the empire on foreign land playing football in the desert adjusting to timeouts for sandstorms and improvised explosive devices see this generation lived through the world wars korea and vietnam they hold fast to an american promise their parents built underground bunkers to protect the family from the real belief of a nuclear holocaust they remember they remember they remember
I remember waiting in line to buy gas during desert storm oil crisis they said they say filling up today everyday I feel like a traitor dependent on this energy source to get where I need to go not a traitor to their flag but a traitor to existence feeding their fight for more more more no contribution to education to shut the fuck up I don't need your oil to give me something else give me something else give me something else
the generation across the street sees me as the generation across the street
they see graffiti in my garage cigarette butts and struck
matches in my front lawn they hear loud music from my front door
back door my car at four a.m. they see two women kissing on the
street in the morning but still they toss me a smile and a full
arm wave I toss it right back generation to generation
July 2005