The clock goes tick, tick, tick
and you can hear the rattle of chains
in every metal echo.
Black clouds hang over you on a clear day
like shadows cast by the fluorescent lights
of your future prison.
I don’t know
how to chase the clouds out of a blue sky
or break the chains I can’t see
but I know that when the sun sets tomorrow
you’ll be living in a cage
for saving the forests of Idaho
from a cold dollar bill.
The clock goes tick, tick, tick
and you can already feel the handcuffs
choking your wrists
but don’t let your last breath of fresh air
turn stale in anticipation.
Sing and dance in the summer sun!
Hug your friends, kiss your lover,
howl at the moon
with that last taste of freedom!
And when the walls close in
that howl will echo in your ear
with every rattle of the chains
like the whisper of a river
splashing against the dam
living for the day
when the concrete shatters
and the raging waters
fly free.