Poetry (lyrics)

Tried and Tested
by Bruce Cockburn 2002
　
Tried and tested
Tried and tested

By the cries of birds
By the lies I've heard
By my own loose talk
By the way I walk
By the claws of beasts
By the laws of priests
By the glutton's feast
By the word police
By the planet's arc
By the falling dark
By the state of the art
By the beat of my heart
By dark finance
By the marketing dance
By the poverty trance
By the fateful glance

Tried and tested
Tried and tested

By the pressure to rhyme
By the wages of crime
By the drop of a dime
By the ghost of the times
By the spurs of desire
By "What does love require"
By what I waited for
By what showed up at the door

Tried and tested
Tried and tested

By the nation wide
By the tears I've cried
By the lure of false pride
By the need to take sides
By the weight of choice
By the still small voice
By things I forget
By what I haven't met yet

Tried and tested
Tried and tested

Pierced by beauty's blade and skinned by wind
Begged for more -- was given -- begged again
I'm still here
I'm still here

Tried and tested
Tried and tested

　
　
　
　
Good Planets are Hard to Find

by Steve Forbert [apologies to you, Steve, for any
misrepresentations I may have reproduced here in
typing, not pasting, the version I found out on
the net at large; by memory it seemed true to the original]


Good planets are hard to find,
Temp'rate zones and tropic climes,
True currents in thriving seas,
Winds blow'n through breathing trees,
Strong ozone and safe sunshine,
Good planets are hard to find.

Good planets are in demand,
Clean beaches and sparking sand,
Land masses with room to spare,
Jet streams and perfect air,
High forests and low wetlands,
Good planets are in demand.

And the mind don't know
If the heart can't see;
Let the blind man go
To his destiny...

Good planets are rare indeed
Rain fallin on crops and seed,
Big rivers and good topsoil,
Fuel sources from cane to oil,
Green gardens of all we need,
Good planets are rare indeed.

And the mind don't know
If the heart can't see;
Let the blind man go
To his destiny...

Good planets are scarce and few,
Earth worms and caribou,
Strong food chains, and tasty meals,
Textiles and plants that heal,
Iron mountains and skies of blue,
Good planets are scarce and few.