5) Pablum

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." Jeanie's in the fast lane, a phone to her ear Slavering drivel to some half-wit casual dear Bennie thinks he's talented, the sticker says "No Fear," Ignorant of consequences, his conscience transparent clear. Jackson doesn't signal, let guessing be your bane Has no idea where he's going, and rants you're white, insane Bushie's made his from oil, your every mile is his gain Lying is a way of life, a predilection profane. We're all driving down the same road Some with light hearts, some with a load Some will take winding turns, and some go straight Some will get there on time, some will get there late. Beulah creeps along oblivious to all those around Petulant, fat and lazy, cranking out a primitive sound Pedro's half-drunk and sleepy, looking for a punk to pound Multiplying peasant ills, overcrowding what he's found. Willie's blowing smoke out his rear, too poor to afford more Getting high is a temporary exit, a simple chemical door Johnny races by impervious, by his side some trashy whore Ill-gained Escalade ride, primal id satisfied core. So the human race rolls free down the way Clattering and classless, making everyone pay Three hundred million Americans racing to nowhere Self-absorbed and brainless, taking so little care.

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." When you come to the end, what questions will you ask? Was I righteous, was I true, did I prove my love to you? When your numbers up, what then can you count? Days of plenty, a zillion twenties, or the love of many? Once your body expires beyond life, what will you transcend? The mental blocks, chains and clocks, a thousand natural shocks? If you have a mind when you're ready to pass on, what will be on it? The next few days, purple haze, double and triple plays? When you're given the time with your life on the line, what will you say? That the traffic was bad, the sex that you had, or what made you mad? When your lights go dim and you're naked within, what is it that you'll want? Just one more sip, yet another trip, never to lose your grip? So the reaper approaches, not there to coach us, what calls will you make? Should have known better, not written that letter, not been such a debtor? Your plane's going down, no rescue around, what are you sorry you did? Broken some hearts, lied with some charts, compromised your arts? Aye the end she comes as a surprise for most A shock, a shame, and a blunder Very few know the time of their passing A lightning strike and a gasp of thunder. When you're down to your last, dare you hold fast, who is it you thank? A holy Creator, the now and the later, your ego's dictator? So you roll down the line to the end of your time, how is it you'll feel? Deeply fulfilled, wisdom instilled, or cheated and billed? When your white light appears and life's in arrears, what will you then need? A push and a shove, the warmth from above, the Father's great love? You've inhaled your last, looking back on the past, what do you think? One heck of a ride, gave it my best try, 'twas great to be alive?

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." One day I'm gonna take a different road And keep on driving till it ends. I'm fed up with the status quo in life I'm looking for a change. I slave all day at a job that sucks Just to satisfy the bills My wife and kids don't know me This life is far too strange. I've been saying this for ten long years But I'm too much a coward to act Everyday is darker than the last And everyone's a jerk I carry on like a zombie trainee Everything's done by rote Oh, to be a really free man again Not some rich man’s clerk. Maybe I'll get on a plane and head for Nepal Or an island in Bali in some tropical dream. Seems a pitiful waste to go on this way Rather lie on a beach eating peaches and cream. But my fears and my guilt Outweigh my own need No sense of imagined altruism Keeps me here any more. My bed is cold, the alarm bell rings, I rise to meet the dark Love is but an imagined thing Merely a saccharined bore. And as much as I need an escape I'm really just a chicken at heart I guess if I had the guts to take that drive I'd have worked harder as a kid. Maybe then I'd have the things in life That would have satisfied me so But I’m really just a hollow shell Of a man in a death-ending skid.

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." People make excuses for things they could not do Why they’re fat, why they’re late, why their payment’s overdue People shirk responsibility and sacrifice respect Why they failed, why they forgot, why their answer’s incorrect An easy way out, so it seems, of getting out of hard work’s way But neglecting one’s accountability is laziness’ highway. Completing a task from beginning to end is difficult for some “I had no time,” “Something came up,” “I had to pick up my son,” Excuses you hear everyday, so common, so shallow, so trite “I mailed the check,” “My car broke down,” “I didn’t see the light,” They insult your intelligence with their sophomoric guile, Comes across so disrespecting, flippant, and infantile. Yet tolerate it we most often do, dare we call them an outright liar Cause every song has its singer, and the wolf even needs a crier Once in a while we all get caught unprepared it’s true Our fallibility precludes any penchant we might have to sue We say, “I’ll believe you this time, but don’t let it happen again,” With some folks it’s not a question of why, only a question of when. So take the bull by the horns, take the entire blame sometimes People respect you more if you admit you have done the crime May it pain you to give excuses for shortcomings you commit Plan a little better, use your time wisely, sharpen up your wit You might even bare the burden of others, in a helpful way reveal A new way to be, humbler and wiser, a jewelled creaturely appeal.

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." How do you control ignorance in action? One without reason, one without thought How can you counter a caveman converging Pulsating passion who’s never been taught Talking won’t quell senseless aggression Communicating takes a reasoning mind Is there a way to mollify a raging beast Must you resort to violence in kind? Ignorance in action is a terrible thing Society’s detraction the subhuman’s sing Pointless destruction, the devil’s dark darling Without compunction, remorseless bitter sting. Let’s thin out the herd in Draconian word Acid to clean out the gene pool Destroy the prisons, they’re cellar dwellers Eliminate those who break the rules. When resources are short, we cannot support them Who needs the evil and greedy Good citizens everywhere deserve our assistance Truly lawful and peaceful yet needy. Pathetic Cro-Magnon with his little mind bent Idiotic animal, brainless incompetent Incorrigible creep, worthless element Murderer and rapist unrepentant. We cannot condone violent acts outside of Self-preservation and such Those who perpetuate evil on others Have lost sense of real human touch We will not advance very far as a culture If we allow such scum to remain Weed out the yard, strengthen the laws And erase the ignorant stain.

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." The sagging sentinel of solemnity saunters up with a sneer And demands from me a twenty for croissants and imported beer Homeless and ever dirty, he sickens me with distrust I gladly hand him my bankbook, my guilt’s an elephant’s truss. A grimy welfare mother of four with no business in my world Sacrificed her peasant’s freedom when her legs became unfurled Curses at me such venom as to make a black widow blush It’s easy to see without looking too far that evolution’s in no rush. A Dagon worshipper with golden chains grunts at me out of spite And yells at me his hardships while he plays with dynamite Blaming everyone but himself and mom for his apparent dispossession My hand dips into my pocket awaiting some bit lip-serviced confession. The mealy mouthed diplomat of the boulevard grabs me in the crotch And squeezes me until I scream, I trespassed on his watch Blinded by a dream he had of a demon who sings in the choir He laughs at me a cruel jest, my redemption’s his desire. The bloodletting hypocrite slithers over in his dark mock leather shoes And angrily requests his forms of me, banks on my fear to lose A Pentium-driven myrmidon in his twelve dollar Gucci coat Pleads with me on greedy knees to bear his cross to vote. Some underachieving bishop of sport bounces his soul to me unhinged Drafts me into a lustful game of eviscerated angst too singed Distastefully grants me unintended license to steal his microscopic brain I sterilize my phantom forceps in a cataclysmic cathedral rain. Some self-styled barker in time preaches the crowds asleep Trolling tall tales of actual hope while I uncontrollably weep Calling me out from a psychic slumber, run half-cocked for a time I outlast his bluster and act out my triumph in steamy pantomime.

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From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." I gotta play with the big boys, the little ones can be weird A calico in the ocean than a shark in a pond and be feared To measure my efforts against the best is what makes me feel real Not dominate some one horse town, an insecure ego’s appeal. I’m not into control as I trust my compadres as they can rely on me No need to force agendas on someone, big boys have eyes which can see. Don’t have to tell you how smart I am and don’t need to beat my chest Little ones are always a-boasting from a fear of failing the test. Let me play with the big boys and if I don’t win it’s okay Rather be last in Gotham than first in Podunk Town, PA There’s winners and losers in all we do but always the cowards die A thousand times over while noblemen hold their heads high. Don’t want to know about the minor leagues, they play in a smaller park Give me the big-time Yankees, more character, confidence and heart Until I play in a sports arena, I’m just a hacker in a two-bit band Little ones act like this is Led Zeppelin when it’s only a grain of sand.

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." Did you uplift the masses or lie and deceive Vilify the guilty or grant innocent’s reprieve Did you climb mighty heights for yourself or for others Care for the children of unworthy mothers Did you bargain and wheedle for a mere crust of bread Or give till it hurts to see they were fed The choices you made are the sum total of being Your decisions replete in consciousness seeing. Did you clutch for riches or share all in your way Acquiesce in peace or ambition's power play Were you a merchant of nothing or sell to the soul Squeeze by a loophole, did your homer hit the pole Did you devote time in service to better Mankind Or do all you did just to advance your own kind No matter how you slice it, your bread becomes toast In His all-seeing eye and soul-stinging roast. Did you sit on your tail or perpetually make motion Whine and complain or choose constructive emotion Did you curse at the darkness or raise up a light Fight against evil or in hypocrisy delight Did you teach and inform to enlighten your race Or take all you could in selfish disgrace There is no escape from the recorder of things You've done what you have whether paupers or kings.

From the Lifesmith Group album, "Pablum." Every moment is a crossroads in life, a decision, a way taken Every door is an opportunity, a locked one, a way forsaken Every line in the play's a choice, a real-time scene to behold Every dream's dance a fantasy new, connections to unfold. Every word you speak of a friend, a bond not easily broken Every turn you take on your way, mind's subway's lost token Every promise given one beyond, takes one away from another Every cross word wrinkles the fabric, ironed out by your mother. Our life's the result of our choices and decisions Our blatant rejections and careful incisions Do we turn left or do we turn right? Get a good night's sleep or stay up all night? Can we plan it all out and will it all be right? Have we wisdom to predict every plight? Is there a best choice as we stumble thru our days? Understandably we go on, improving our ways. There's lots to be said for being spontaneous and free The wind carries you blithely like a leaf from a tree But that's life’s decision like any other for sure Choices made for you, you'll have to endure. So have we free will, is our destiny in stone? Can we cast away sins, in sincerity atone? We know there's no take-backs, no Mulligans alas Stuck with our choices yet fashioned in glass.