February 12, 2003
Not too long ago an oxygen tank exploded in the apartment building across the street from me, killing an old lady and starting a fire that gutted the fifth floor. It got me thinking about fire, which in turn led me to write the following lyric.
Sitting by the fire And I think,
That's supposed to warm my chill,
I wonder if it ever
Will.
Fire, burn me.
Turn my faults to ash.
Destroy
Whatever I can't smash.
Fire, burn me.
Char my sins to black,
'Til I remember nothing,
And don't ever bring me back.
Fire in the winter
Should keep the cold outside.
Whoever called it cheery
Lied.
And I say,
Fire, sear me.
Burn my past away.
Have mercy
On this muddy clay.
Fire, sear me.
Crack me 'til I break.
Oh, rob me of my memory
And never let me wake.
Purify me,
'Cause I'm drowning in my flaws.
Test and try me.
Kill the person that I was,
Because
He haunts me.
And I pray,
Fire, melt me.
Wash away my sins.
Consume me
Where the flame begins.
Fire, melt me,
Pitiful and frail,
'Til no one here remembers me
Who ever saw me fail.
Hmm.
I wonder if it's time to go back on Prozac.
Posted by Faustus, MD at 10:16 PM
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Comments
1) JW said (on 02/13/03 at 03:31 AM):
No, don't go on Prozac while its absence is possibly giving rise to such brilliant lyrics!! (Only one line I have a question about, and I'm not sure I even have a good reason to question it; I'll email you.)
2) Ed said (on 02/13/03 at 07:33 PM):
Selma rocked back and forth
In her special chair
Yellow were her dentures
Purple was her hair
Her mind was but a jumble
Of random nonsense thoughts
Memories of better times
Of cats and quilts and the lot
Regretfully she gazed
Out of her dirty window
Wondering where her life had gone
And petting her dead, stuffed pit bull
"All the dreams the I once had
All those things I'd do
Where did all the time go?"
She looked down at her shoe
But then a force came over her
Like nothing she had known
A strength that was not of her
But from a source unknown
"I will not die like this," she yelled
"In this dusty room!
My life will not be meaningless
I'm not some dumb old prune!
I will achieve my triumph!
I won't wither away!
I am a brand new woman
As of this very day!"
And there she stood in glory
And until her end she gleamed
Which was 4 minutes later
When an oxygen tank
Just beneath a plank
in her living room floor
2 feet from the door
met with a spark
and then the dark
Was lit with a blast
And then very fast
Blew Selma to Smithereens.
--Ed Shepp
I'm sorry--that was irreverent. But I couldn't help myself. Forgive me. :o
3) Tina said (on 02/13/03 at 09:19 PM):
As a published writer myself, I think it's a great poem... you have talent... :)
4) Convivia said (on 02/13/03 at 10:12 PM):
It's an excellent lyric.
And Effexor is better than Prozac. Better orgasms, and less weight gain.
I wonder why they don't use that as their advertising campaign?
5) Faustus, MD said (on 02/14/03 at 12:07 AM):
Ed Shepp, I love you. Will you marry me?
6) Ed Shepp said (on 02/15/03 at 05:26 PM):
Oh, I've been waiting for this moment (in my dusty wedding dress) for so long! I'm so happy! :)
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