Dream Song #17

They took my body to the forest They asked me to climb a ladder I did not want to climb a ladder But they forced me to climb the ladder If you don’t climb the ladder we will bury you in the foamy mud I had to decide: should I die by hanging or by burial I climbed the ladder and they wrapped a belt around the thick limb of a tree And then when I could no longer breathe they tossed me into a stream And I floated to the edge of the village where someone prayed for my soul It’s like this in a lullaby for the end of the world: The options for the end are endless But this is not really a lullaby for the end of the world It’s about the beginning what happens when we start to rot in the daylight The way the light shines on the ants and worms and parasites mauling our bodies It’s about the swarms of dogs gnawing our skin and bones Do you know what it’s like when a ghost licks your intestines Do you know what it’s like when a rat devours your brain To avoid the hole the children must sing sweetly, softly To avoid the hole they must fill their songs with love