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Throw the Lions to the Christians

from Throw the Lions to the Christians by Larry O. Dean

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lyrics

"Have a drink on me," she said
"have a drink when I am dead
remember all of the times we had
mostly the good but also the bad"
we tried to be fair
we tried to be just
we tried to depend
on undependable trust
but when tempers flared & our fists flew
it was only anger crying out
"I love you"

So we wore our hats
& we wore our shoes
& we wore out our welcomes
& our how-do-you-do's
by locking ourselves into nasty habits
that predicted the end
as easily as lab rats
"Have a look at me," she said
fabricating a lie while making the bed
self-destructing on
an impossible mission
throw the lions to the Christians

We thought we knew what to expect
young & impressionable yet
full of regret
running on batteries weak
from the start
that weakened with every wild
beat of our hearts
we ran in the snow, we ran in the rain
we ran down hills & then
up them again
hands in our pockets
& feet on the ground
two mutts on the lam
from the dog pound

"Have pity on me," she pitifully cried
with a horrible voice
breaking from inside
that didn't sound like her at all
or the her I'd known
talking late at night on the telephone
her knees were bruised
from crawling on all fours
looking for something once lost
& long since ignored
while I looked for a cup to piss in
throw the lions to the Christians

A story isn't a story
without a beginning & an end
& this a story about old friends
who gave up giving up
too much of themselves
& decided to give up something else
"Have a dance with me"
she smiled & asked
as she removed her raccoon mask
her face was beautiful in the dim light
& the two of them danced all night

In the morning things were different
passion turned into politeness
as the sun came up, flooding
the room with whiteness
they knew each other intimately
they knew each other blind
they knew each other
was one of a kind
but suspicion got the best of them
& off they went
adding up all of the time they spent
worrying over spilt milk in the kitchen
throw the lions to the Christians

credits

from Throw the Lions to the Christians, released March 6, 2012
Recorded at Olde West, San Francisco, CA 1993. Engineered by James Schaefer. Remastered at Kingsize Sound Labs, Chicago, IL October 2011 with Mike Hagler.

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Larry O. Dean Chicago, Illinois

Larry O. Dean was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. His numerous chapbooks include I Am Spam (2004), a series of poems “inspired” by junk email, abbrev (2011), and About the Author (2011). A full-length collection, Brief Nudity is forthcoming in 2013. He is also an acclaimed songwriter whose most recent CD release is Fun with a Purpose (2009) with The Injured Parties. ... more

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