The Taming of the Beast

Give the Beast a clean shirt, a shave and a shower

Tell him about rainbows and how to smell a flower

Give him a reason, some meaning and a taste

Of how things can be on the other side of waste

Take him to the movies, to the mall and the park

Tell him about other tongues that are different from ‘bark’

Show him how to bite an apple instead of a throat

Tell him how misery and mirth travel the same boat

Teach him about balance, about insurance and kids

Draw him a picture of pots and pans and lids

Seduce him with home scenes, laughter and Sundays

Teach him to love weekends and how to hate Mondays

Tell him about college funds and semesters and ice creams

Tell him how his dream is now all about his kids’ dreams

Give him a goal about how much asset to leave behind

When he is done being a nobody and drops off the grind

Make the Beast a neutered midget, meaningless and zero

Rob him of his every chance of ever being a hero

Lull him and dull him, cut off his poetry and his rhyme

It’s Samson and Delilah all over again, except it’s his head this time

And when the play is done and the audience rises like yeast

Scream with your last lungs — ‘Motherfuckers, at least I was a beast

It’s not the least, it’s not the most; it’s certainly not a success toast

But being a beast is better than the least and surely more than a fucking boast’