Now I'm Learning to Love the War

Try not to think so much about
The truly staggering amount of oil
That it takes to make a record
All the shipping, the vinyl, the cellophane lining
The high gloss
The tape and the gear

Try not to become too consumed
With what's a criminal volume of oil
That it takes to paint a portrait
The acrylic, the varnish
Aluminum tubes filled with latex
The solvents and dye

Let's just call this what it is
The gentler side of mankind's death-wish
When it's my time to go
Gonna leave behind things that won't decompose

Try not to dwell so much upon
How it won't be so very long from now
That they laugh at us for selling
A bunch of fifteen-year olds made from dinosaur bones
Singing "Oh, yeah!"
Again and again
Right up to the end

Let's just call this what it is
The gentler side of mankind's death-wish
When it's my time to go
Gonna leave behind things that won't decompose

I'll just call this what it is
My vanity gone wild with my crisis
One day this all will repeat
Now sure hope they make something useful out of me