It's OK to be human
All the Buddhas done it
All the bad guys too
Everyone's bathtub gets a ring
Shirts have ring around the collar
Toilets look worse
Even after flushing
Teeth chip, fade and rot
Noses grow bulbous
Eyes droop
Ladies grow whiskers
Men grow bald
And worse things happen
Under layers of skin and fine clothes
But mind grows peaceful
Nothing is for granted
Life is even more fleeting
And that much more precious
It's not a party after a point
It's just constant cleanup
Routines structure routines
Noses smell themselves
Skin falls from skin
Knees degenerate
The carnival of youth
Seems ever more fatuous
The future corpses of America
Are oh so splendid in their antics
The buddhing young intellects
Are poised for liberation
Whorled Peas be upon them --
I imagine a green wheel of bliss --
Let them have fresh greenbacks
Right off the burning presses
And hot stock tips
And sexy like-minded friends
There is no need to transform this
Everything is a simple symbol
Of what cannot be avoided.