Agents of law enforcement issued from the bushes
Like baby ‘possums from the pouch
The ice cream seller turned his head
But kept his eyes fixed upon the scene

And you start to wonder with your gambler’s squint
Who’s who in this scenario
Where did that haze of paranoia come from
Where are all those hovercraft going

A raft of individuals paid homage
In the steeple-storied compound
The liquid crystal palace fancied up
For the feast of St. Valentine

Jets and shoebills hang inside the museum
A child is separated from their parents
An official makes a notation on an iPad
We gotta find a gas station with diesel

The drummer didn’t make it back to the stage
After a break longer than usual
Death taxes and existential threat
On average every three minutes so say the statisticians

Notice a shortage of sodium benzoate
A blot on your scutcheon a trim on your safety
Or anonymous windchimes rotating ominously
Pat the hardboiled chum in your breast pocket

Excuse me could you take a brief survey
After the public execution
Now that you’ve seen the taste test comparison
Can you tell the difference between a groan and a scream

So many lies the rhetoric of derangement
Supercharged energy pills
It only had to last today and tomorrow
As homey and comfortable as death