Tonight, as I left the shopping centre I passed a family. The father caught a glimpse of me – I must have look a sight: rainbow leggings, bright green riding jacket, helmet on already. I dashed past and allowed them enough of my attention to catch Father giving Son the eye and nodding in my direction – a look of disbelief on his face... "what a freak".
Son, turning to what I can only assume was little sister and not daughter (but you can never tell in these parts) and said so clearly within my earshot:
“See Millie… that’s how you get bashed”
All the way home, furious, I screamed retorts in my mind and watched my words blow him apart…
“See Millie… That’s a boy with a small penis.”
“That’s right Millie, never dare to be different or people with little minds will try to hurt you”
“That’s right Millie, the world punishes those who expresses who they are. You should always conform… ALWAYS”
What is this pocket of the world I live in? I want to be seen on dark roads for Fuck’s sake. And even if I did want to dress like this every day… what is it to you? Do my brightly coloured socks offend you? Challenge you? Blow your mind?
Try opening your mind, asshole.
Tis a dark pocket for some. But bright sunshine for others... Me, I prefer rainbows and there's been lots of them around lately. And did you hear that - to quote Bob Dylan - "Chime of freedom flashing" last night...
ReplyDeleteFar between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway [as] thunder [went]crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Through the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden while the walls were tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsaked
Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
An' the unpawned painter behind his rightful time
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for-granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute
For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an' cheated by pursuit
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flashed
An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
An' for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look
Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse
An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Man Oh Man/Woman did those bells go crashing last night, and it blew a gale and the thunder lasted, and lasted... WOW!!!! Ah to be in a Tipi with a warm fire and listening to such a thing... Joy to you beautiful one!!