DRUM-TRUCK CAME
E. S. Bley
TRUCK CAME RlDING
into town with a big man with a drum,
Boom. Boom. Truck came riding into town, down the highway into
town, man driving, man sitting next to him, big white signs on the
sides of the truck. We don't care about the sides of the truck, signs
that say nothing in letters of red, big white signs, flapping, flapping.
We don't care about the man who drives, let him drive. We don't
care about the man at his side who owns the truck and thinks about
the signs, he's a politician, not life, not life.
Back of the truck is open to the sun, open wide, open to the rain
that will come from the sky like bathing and drinking and living your
life. Open to the wind that blows like dying, quickly dying, whitely
dying, quickly dying is part of life. Back of the truck is open to ·the
night, the night will come (the night knows all and understands
nothing). The back of the truck is open above and open in the back,
backflap down, open in the back where the drum-man stands. He's
our man, he's our man, man, man, MAN.
Truck came riding into town on a blue and white morning.
Boom boom boom, O).lr man with the drum. Man is standing on the
back of the truck with a great big drum, boom boom boom boom.
Simply standing on the back of the truck, beating the drum, beating
the drum, standing like a river lies in the sun. Boom.
This is our man, this is MAN. Wearing a uniform, beautiful man,
lazily alertly beating the drum. That's his job, that's his work, beating
a drum so the people will come and listen to the politician making
a speech. He doesn't care about the speech, he only cares about the
drum. He's wearing a uniform, khaki and gold, uniform makes him
straight and tall and blond (don't you believe it; he's blond inside).
Uniform shows that he knows he's good, knows it, boom. Makes you
feel that he feels he's good, feels he's man, feels he's life. Knows it
like night. Feels it like sun. Shows it like a river with the sun's belly
on
it.
He breathes, he breathes, that's what counts! Like water-gold
points of a river in the sun, like beating on an empty lazy drum.
Beating because it's easy to beat and fun to beat. Like blood. Boom.
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