She Screams Lithe Nithe Banshee

by Amish Trivedi

Ere theres a'beaut strollin' dahn
Bithe frothed waters ivenot seen 'ince child time
Me eyes glass lithe frozed ice in hinter time
Ah, but to dream is but to rhyme
And alack I saw her walking lithe goddess of gloom
Back inher fairy dust room
And she said she screamed like the night banshee
Bustill malove grows deby de
And icant shy way
Aser eyes have power o'er me
Lidle can she do
To mark me like you
As I hev none talouse

Ah'er spirts dance in time
Clipclopclipclop dancing lithe everstop
And er fireyes burn into mine
And she splits me ears wid erigh scream
But a banshee now from a dream
Pithy me for iluv
Though she'd slight me widchance sheed had

Ah, an' shey came inme room o'er looking the hills
Which rode me here in midnight light
An' id been grippeld by fear afore
But non lithese
An' er air brithe lith fire from ell up
An' ierd not but moosik
Buhtterigh scream
Lumling up from er belly
High like a god perched in the sky
But I did not turnet stone, ence
but feel ove lith
my heart sang like a million birds
AH TRAH LA LA LA LA
Oh it sores
Ib not stone

An' till this de
ive fell noth buhluv
Aye, her screams an' fire fear
buter spirits dance in time
Aye, love n'er a crime
Clopclipclop-clopclipclop
Aye-n'i sing
TRAH luh LAH-luh LAH LIE
Aye, but i canna sleep nuh mer

Copyright © Amish Trivedi 2003

Athens, 2003

by Amish Trivedi

Grab the morning by the horns
And steer it to the milky bars
Wash the clothes on wires crost
Dangling drunk off police cars
Rush to school on buses white
And rush to bars on Tuesday night
Let the nighttime make you free
And stumble through the traffic light
Wear your black everyday
Imply your red if you can
Wear a fake-faded baseball cap
Smoke something they didn't ban
Drive your Explorer on narrow streets
But blast the Morning Bell from Kid A
Drink too much and get a ticket
Because your parents don't mind to pay
If you're part of the other scene
Hate all that is mainstream
And have your friends cut your hair
And pretend to live in a communal dream
Fight for women so you feel so good
And let the rest suffer all around
Don't let the poor get rundown
Don't worry about those that are in the ground
Fight for ideals which sound so fair
Even though for most you don't care
Is there no such thing as a common good?
Because for only a few will you tear
Eat at The Grit because vegan is in
'Cause abortion isn't at all a sin
And cry and cry for foreign kids
And let those around you suffer so you win
Stop the man from saving the world
Because you do it so very well
You haven't even driven past Pulaski Street
And you stand on Broad Street with nothing to tell
You have no idea how our world works
Because you've lived in your middle-class ways
Don't tell us we're the ones wrong
'Cause you've only seen happy days

Copyright © Amish Trivedi 2003

Write Me a Short Symphony

by Amish Trivedi

Write me a short symphony,
A poem with only two lines,
Sing me just the tune of a song,
Or hand me just the vines

Give me just the headlines
Or the colors that you know
Send me a blank postcard
Or a light bulb that won't glow

Send me just a form
A letter to anyone at all
Where you've just filled in my name
And gave it no thought at all

Send me money for a gift
Or a card with no words
A black and white painting of Heaven
Without the singing birds

Write me a letter with no sign
That you even know I'm there
Talk about it like I was invited
Since I know you don't care

Call me at 2 a.m.
Like you dialed me just by chance
Stand next to me just for show
I know that you don't dance

Send me a sonnet, dear
With no rhymes at all
Like you just don't have the time
To write or come or call

Write me a two line poem
So I know you're alive
Let me know you made it home
Since I let you drive

Hold my hand for a second
Just to fake like you care
Every time you flash a smile
I believe you'll be there

Sure, your words are just lies
And there's nothing in your eyes
But I still want to feel something
Because once I saw the skies

Copyright © Amish Trivedi 2003

I Can Feel My Childhood Dying

by Amish Trivedi

I can feel my childhood dying
The innocence waning in my eyes
The hair falling from my head
And less I look toward the skies

The laughter I once knew so well
Is smothered by wanting to seem wise
And instead of a childish fib
I tell more adult lies

I used to believe the stories you'd spin
But now I ignore the words you say
Because I've learned I must be right
I have no time to sit and play

I once thought I could sail the seas
But now I'm content to remain in my chair
All the things I dared once to do
Are lost in a sea of care

And once where I could dream of love
Is gone now for I do now know
That love for me is a foolish game
And I think I'm better off low

I could tell you that the world is nice
But only through my childhood eyes
And buried in a box so far away
That is where my childhood lies

Copyright © Amish Trivedi 2003