Jim Colyer
I sat on the 16th Street Mall
In downtown Denver
Just resting from my walk
Watching people as they passed
A girl came up to me
Do you have any money for food?
She asked so pitifully
I said no and looked away
Blacks and Hispanics were everywhere
Middle-age white men showed their calves
In their funny pants and flip-flops
Sunglasses on their bald heads
I don't know if they're gay
I imagine they have boy friends
While women make love
To their dogs and cats
This ain't 1953, I thought
Sure as hell ain't 1923
What happened to our society?
What happened to normalcy?
Too many pointless wars
Too many football games
Too many horror movies
Too many SUVs
Too much alcohol
Too much marijuana
Too much communication
Too much porn
Too much crazy music
Too much television
Too much education
Too much food
So-called men, tattooed up
Metal stuck in their faces
Their kids now speaking Spanish
Sliding into the Third World
Women who once primped
Wore dresses and heels
Now wearing torn jeans
Obese and dirty
Suddenly I saw them
Strolling on the sidewalk
Two men holding hands
Oh God! I'm gonna puke!
Degenerate America
Greatness in retrograde
Foreigners in control
Just don't be a racist!
Later as I downed a Big Mac
I thought about the girl on 16th
I should have fed her
And taken her to my motel
Jim Colyer ascap
In downtown Denver
Just resting from my walk
Watching people as they passed
A girl came up to me
Do you have any money for food?
She asked so pitifully
I said no and looked away
Blacks and Hispanics were everywhere
Middle-age white men showed their calves
In their funny pants and flip-flops
Sunglasses on their bald heads
I don't know if they're gay
I imagine they have boy friends
While women make love
To their dogs and cats
This ain't 1953, I thought
Sure as hell ain't 1923
What happened to our society?
What happened to normalcy?
Too many pointless wars
Too many football games
Too many horror movies
Too many SUVs
Too much alcohol
Too much marijuana
Too much communication
Too much porn
Too much crazy music
Too much television
Too much education
Too much food
So-called men, tattooed up
Metal stuck in their faces
Their kids now speaking Spanish
Sliding into the Third World
Women who once primped
Wore dresses and heels
Now wearing torn jeans
Obese and dirty
Suddenly I saw them
Strolling on the sidewalk
Two men holding hands
Oh God! I'm gonna puke!
Degenerate America
Greatness in retrograde
Foreigners in control
Just don't be a racist!
Later as I downed a Big Mac
I thought about the girl on 16th
I should have fed her
And taken her to my motel
Jim Colyer ascap