The Talkin’ 187 Minute Blues

I tend to be conservative
although I cannot lie...there've been
times when i've been called
a progressive kind of guy

so, i'm a compassionate conservative;
a mixed metaphor it seems
i'm not adverse to new ideas
but suspicious of extremes (and yet)

I like to think i'm sensitive
enough to lend a hand
I mean, to offer help
to do whatever, when I can

so, i'm puzzled when the leader
of the free world sips his tea
while on the screen
an insurrection plays out on tv

if a situation's critical
no matter how you spin it,
you cannot friggin wait one hundred
eighty seven minutes

doing something helpful means you
get up off your butt
you put aside your ego
and ask somebody 'what

can I do to make it better?
get involved? Cause if you wait, one
hundred eighty seven
minutes' gonna be a bit too late

too late for the guards
who lost their lives that day
or members of the congress
who had to hide away

you sent the invitations
you said it would be wild
your friends played storm the castle
you acted like a child

so, when you are found guilty
the sentence should be clear
poetic justice for one hundred
eighty seven years

noel paul stookey / july 22, 2022 / stone mountain, maine