Penance

Manifesto

America hungover ... Clouds gathering ... Talk of moving to Canada ... Lack of understanding of foreign affairs ... New nationalism ... Dakota Pipeline Access protest ... Tweets and text messages ... Military manuevers and terrorist attacks ... Gender and bathroom laws debate ... 24/7 unfiltered news ... And loss ... And love. 

These ballads were written during the first 100 days of the Trump Administration (2017.01.20-04.29). 

As always immense and deep thanks to Jed Myers for his incredible intuition in scoring and underscoring each track -- revealing and reveling in their intent and meaning. It had been 10 years since Jed and I recorded the first Ballads Under New Regime, then during the Bush Administration. Urgent and uncensored -- reflecting these times -- we reprised the Ballads in Jack Straw Studios -- more often than not in just one take -- live, together. 

Hope for an end to these Ballads. --jb

01. Packed Up And Ready To Go

BURY ME IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE

Bury me in an unmarked grave
Your shovel leaving nothing but
A low mound of dirt my monument 

Let my bones disassemble intertwine
With holy bones of comrades
With silenced tongues of poets 

Cover my omissions my impediment 
Like a manifesto never published 
I remain forgotten unforgiven

More Ballads Under New Regime

Bury Me In An Unmarked Grave

SHITSHOW 

unravel begets
contempt begets
rigid begets
order begets
law begets
clash begets
war begets
god begets
more revolution
begets more

Shitshow

ODE TO THE BUNKER II 

To your blanket-covered windows
To your sandbagged front porch
Protect what pursuit remains 

To your kitchen where loyal gather
To your alley where patrol dog barks
Protect what pursuit remains

To your shut-down streets
To your vigilance   
Protect what pursuit remains

To your arms that embrace 
To your love that liberates 
Protect what pursuit remains

Ode To The Bunker II

BORN UNDER A WANING GIBBOUS
   for Eliot Lyle Burgess-Lundin, b. 2020.05.11 

O how hope arrives
Wrapped in a rainbow
As satisfied as Hotei 
Before the world flattens again

Born Under A Waning Gibbous

FAKE NEWS

Tune in
Tune out
100 channels
Spin about

Latest poll
Data shows
A spike or
All-time lows 

Expert after
Expert reports
Who's the source
Whose retort 

In real time
Crisis unfolds
Next cycle
Story's untold 

One side
Two sides
No side
Decides 

Streaming live
Tweeting memes
Experimental drugs
Work for me

News cycle
Ready to spin
Never meant 
To let you win

Keep watch
7x24
A knock
Your front door

Fake News

TALKIN MAIL-IN BALLOT BLUES

I’m gonna let you know how I feel
I’m going to let you know exactly how I feel
Don’t tell me I don’t count ’cause I dropped it in the mail 

Let me add to the tally of those opposed
Let me add to the tally of those who stand opposed
Don’t tell me I don’t count ’cause I dropped it in the mail 

I say watch me sign in blood instead of ink
Watch me sign in blood instead of ink
Don’t tell me I don’t count ’cause I dropped it in the mail 

I sealed your fate & even got my postmark
I did I sealed your fate & I even got a postmark 
Don’t tell me I don’t count ’cause I dropped it in the mail 

My ballot was delivered now it's time you go
I know my ballot was delivered so now it's time for you to go
Don’t tell me I don’t count ’cause I dropped it in the mail

Talkin Mail-In Ballot Blues

OREGON

Our sister calls
She’s tightening the laces
Of her combat boots

Unmarked vans
Patrol her disputed streets 
Circling for ideas to arrest

She waves
Behind makeshift barricade
Where the line gets drawn

Oregon

LOVE DURING QUARANTINE 

Close enough to catch your breath 
Each touch reduced to airborne 
We take refuge behind barriers of ply

When intimacy becomes imposed
Incoming missives become mandates
Blankets provide our only cover 

Let’s whisper ventilated unfiltered
Mark the walls to tally each passing day
Closer to closing this distance between us

Love During Quarantine

CALL AND RESPONSE

who knows first
who sees first
who hears first
who speaks first

who cries first
who shoots first
who hits first
who lies first

who sprays first
who bombs first
who kills first
who dies first

who thirsts first
who strives first
who lives first
who stands first

Call And Response

STANDING ON 85th

How many footsteps our streets withstand 
The weight of our collective marching
We gather as a testament 
Hoofbeats coming for a reckoning 

How many monumental moments pass
Roped & tugged until base gives up
History that remains in bronze
Buckles like pounded pavement

How many signs send a signal
Graffiti doesn’t need to be decoded
Staccato horns broadcast our message
Fists & waves for we who stand

Standing On 85th

John Burgess writes poetry in public places. His first book was Punk Poems from Ravenna Press.

Punk Poet

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