For Gerard

The streets are alive with videoke music
With songs that are sung through the endless night
The streets fill my ears with the noise of music
My ears want to douse every song they hear

My ears want to fly like the wings of the birds
That rise from the lake to the trees
My ears want to hear all the ending notes
Of the songs on the breeze
I flee from the noise but I trip and fall over
Stones on my way
To sleep through the night like a log on the bed sheets of grass

I run from the streets and my ears are ringing

I know I will hear what I've heard before
My ears are not blessed by these sounds of singing
I won't sleep once more