arctangent (love is a battlefield)

arctangent(love is a battlefield)

train stations and forest fires
approximate rhymes that seem to be
more than you bargained for
an organic chemist would have
difficulty accounting for the resonance
that resounds throughout my soul
that creates the sole
and final form that becomes what i am
sewing machines, insect pins, and aloe vera
verify the only question:
what the hell is going on here?
hell is going on here? what the?
resonance, resonance in the ratio
the ratio of two sides
two sides that keep changing
shifting, eliminating all doubt
but doubt over what?
it's simple
easy to understand
it all comes down to
we are young
heartache to heartache
we stand
no promises no demands
love is a battlefield
at least that's how i think it went
that's the answer i was given
when i fell to my knees and prayed
in the tv section at wal-mart
i couldn't take it anymore and i said
"lord if you exist, send me a sign
send me an answer"
i screamed at the flat-screen
i screamed at the projection
at the plasma, the high-definition
the low-income model
and it played, an answer
we are young
heartache to heartache
resounding like a choir of angels
"thank you Lord" i cried
before i was kindly escorted to the parking lot
toyota camries and ford escorts
locked in battle for tiny plots
like Iwo Jima, world war II
just like that
the ratio of two sides
computers and copyright owners
napster, gnutella, iTunes
rubber trees and pitcher plants
i'm just a pair of claws
claws, claws, nothing but claws
and santa claus and termination clauses
legal agreements that fail to bind
and tow trucks and parking decals
gays and lesbians
joining hands around a cathedral
around the capitol
singing
we are strong
no one can tell us we're wrong
searchin' our hearts for so long
all of us knowing
love is a battlefield
with your matthew sheperds and rosa parks
monica lewinskys, bill clintons
gary condits and oj simpsons
your cass elliots and ham sandwiches
copper tubing in the virgin islands
crashing on your head
suddenly you're singing a higher note
just like that
the ratio of two sides
cell phones and physicists
terrorists versus terrorists
no one's listening
everyone's yelling
everyone's right
buddhists versus muslims
jews versus christians
wiccans versus mormons
sonny versus cher
holy war breaks loose
what the hell is going on?
going on? what is hell?
resonance, resonance
casey kasem and velma dinkley
the harlem globetrotters
we are strong
we are strong
everyone's right
everyone's right
stop the presses.
hellgrammites and antlions
tadpoles and caterpillars
little kids and lollipops
make no allusions
electronic correspondence keeps leaking from our pores
when does it end? it never ends.
of lacewings and mayflies
i'll take the latter
just for one day
while we all play hide and seek
with ourselves
speak for yourself
the ratio of two sides
it's all a part of our resonance
it's all a part of who we are
who i am
you
me
oprah winfrey
barbara streisand
laurel and hardy and korn
charlie brown and kite-eating trees
magic johnson and shaquille o' neal
heartache to heartache we stand
dude you're getting a dell
and i'm just trying to make sense of it all
batman and robin
bert and ernie
love is a battlefield.


[this poem/dramatic monologue contains samples of the lyrics of "Love is a Battlefield" released by Pat Benatar]