[MURIEL]

I marched with Dr. King once in Chicago

Nobody knows this, I've never told

But if anyone should doubt it

You can see me in the photo

On the front of the Tribune above the fold

And I used to have a scar

From a bottle someone threw

And I realize it's not a thing

You'd think that I would do

But I'd heard so much and read so much

About the man and so

I had to go

I had to know

My brother—this is heavily symbolic—

He was committed my sophomore year

He was sure the FBI had put electrodes on his brain

And so he shoved a pen-knife straight into his ear

It was terrible, and yet

What it mostly made me feel

Was the hope that now he'd finally admit it wasn't real

We agree he must be crazy

We abandon the pretense

'Cause what makes sense

Is evidence

I'll believe in God when I see her

I'll believe in Santa when the sleigh lands on my roof

It's not an aberration—

I don't lack imagination

But my faith is predicated on proof

I have seen that memory is imperfect

I believe "objective" doesn’t have to mean "aloof"

The facts, once they are stated

Cannot be negotiated

Thus my faith is predicated on proof

You believe in change and redemption

I believe the world is full of fools like Dr. King

The danger, I suppose, is

That your mind completely closes

And you don't believe a single fucking thing

The man you've loved or hated

Has deceived and fabricated

A fact corroborated by proof