The cat is purring with pleasure

He smiles and gnashes his teeth

And rolls around in his fine soft furs

Sipping a cup of mushroom tea

Each Sunday, in San Francisco

His pink flamingo party reconvenes

‘Cause life is a hallucination baby

Still, I wish that he would just come clean

The strong man stands in the flower beds

Whistles while he waters his team

Channeling animal instinct

To raise their right arms in defeat

A mountain goat on a mole hill

Tells me of the valleys and peaks

Little sheep bow at his bare feet

The saxophone blows, the drums beat

And I wonder "Why?"

Their answer never seems quite right

The hole is deep and endless as the night sky

Show me how to live

Knowing I am going to die

They sing in sunflower silence

High vibrato hymns on the breeze

Their faith is an anesthesia

When Mother comes to harvest her seeds

The girl washes their bodies with a soft drink

Cool Coca-Cola makes them weep

They never thought about asking

Who she was or what she believed

And I wonder "Why?"

Their answer never seems quite right

The hole is deep and endless as the night sky

Show me how to live

Knowing I am going to die

Down in the dirt beneath the roses

Men with skin like oysters and jaws like fish

Flapping about big questions

Beards flecked with soil and spit

One says, "You are the earth that eats you."

So why do I feel this pain?

From somewhere down in a deep well

The echo is still reverberating

Do you wonder "Why?"

Their answer never seems quite right

The hole is deep and endless as the night sky

Watering the roots

Of the tree of life

Show me how to live

Knowing I am going

To die