Never a Hero

[bicyclingfish]

sun setting on the ocean's water
sons are soldiers and kids for slaughter
looking back I'll always wander
what its like to be good
what its like to be good

In the war we all were fighting
Some were chanting, some were writing
When they called my number I fled
whats it like to be good
whats it like to be good

The house was burning from cigarettes in bed
Babies crying and I heard what you said
Rescue them before you leave
Do what's good
Do what's good

Every man can't be a hero
Every woman can't be a saviour
Every time can't be the best
And every day I'll try like the rest
But I'm never a hero

Sun burns hot in the desert sands
You crossed the border to my open hands
They beat on my door and asked if you were here
I'm never a hero
I'm never a hero
I'm never a hero

 

[scatteroflight]

Originally posted by bicyclingfish:

You crossed the border to my open hands

 

[The Wanderer]

sometimes I wonder at the people we choose to call "heros" in this society, often for doing something as simple as throwing a baseball or a football better than 99% of the population, or singing songs about money and drugs and sex and being paid handsomely for it -- and we are supposed to call these people heros? or are we supposed to call the people we elect who compromise our health, environment and overall well-being just to get or stay in power the heros?

your poems suggests that something such as "being there" for someone makes them a hero -- at least to that person

well, I'm no hero either

 

[bicyclingfish]

I wrestle with hero-dom. What makes a person higher or holier or better than another? Are we all simply people, or are there some of us who are better than others?

There's a recording of Bono going through his list of heroes in 1988, and its kinda wierd. He starts of listing BB King, then Edge and Larry and Adam, then he goes through his whole road crew, and finally he says to the audience "Ah, fuck it, you're all heroes of mine!"

And then I have a friend, an american who's in Tibet right now. She just got through 16 days of teachings by the Dalai Lama, and the way she talks about him is revering, and she calls him her hero. Is that hero-dom?

I dunno. Lou Reed's got a great song called "Why Can't I Be Good?" Everyday heroes, each of us, right? Maybe someone read one of your poems, it calmed them and they didn't kill anyone, or it took them off the ledge, or they...

Or maybe a poem helped push them over.

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Come on, come on! Be good to me...