Artificial Light For A Parasite

Funny thing,
My given name means "sunrise" or "new day" in Welsh.
My tribe's name translates to people of the first light.
So,
I guess it was supposed to hurt
when you told me my light was artificial;
quoting scriptures,
chapters and verse.
after tearfully singing,
please
don't
take
my
sun
shine
away.
Sorry, I said.
and sorry, I was.
But not for the reasons that feed
your self righteousness.
The fact of the matter is,
I have several grades of light,
and realized:
When you saw the candle burning in my window
and sought me out;
from the things you said;
your three-page answers to my seven word question.
It was obvious,
you weren't ready for the real light;
but you wanted to bask in the glow.
So,
You asked to borrow a flashlight and two batteries
to the tune of Reasons...
la-la-lala, la-la-lala, la-la-lala
immediately tried to claim the flashlight for your own
Wanting it shinned in caverns claimed long dark
and even lied about some unexplored
let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
You,
even went and got your deck chair and sunglasses
to bask in it's glow
hoping to get the flesh tanned.
and the Bugs Bunny in me
wanted to see how far this could go
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
and all of your neighbors know
the brand name

At some point,
I thought you could graduate to a torch
until I realized
you were simply trying to absorb my light
and claim it for your own
and the light I thought I saw in you
was just a distorted reflection of my own
just trying to feed on the source
too bad you didn't know
real light has a way of seeing what's in your shadows
You were trying to harness the sun
Editing my words
Yeah
Editing my words
You only wanted to know what I was thinking
so that you could correct that too
CONTROL
Sorry,
but even the best scientists in the world
can only harness a piece of the sun
and some just wanna be a piece for the sun
and then there are those
who want a piece of the sun
and then there are the parasite
who want to feed on the sun and claim it as their own
The problem here
parasite dry up and die in the sun
because the light is more then they can handle
You were cooling waters for the heat
a refreshing plunge in a lake
but pools can only reflect light
and below your blue waters was all of the murk and muck
of pollution past and yet to come
and the Bugs Bunny in me
wanted to see how far this could go
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
everybody knows whose light it is

Your reflections can fool some
quoting the scriptures
chapter and verse
it's easy to appear bright when you reflect other folks light
and the Bugs Bunny in me
wanted to see how far this could go
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
like a stop light.

There came a time
as with all flashlights
when the batteries run out
and the light begins to flicker
and you found yourself running naked in the streets
trying to catch the sun
and called it artificial light like the fox walking from the grape tree
proclaiming the grapes probably sour
It's just the Brer Rabbit in me shining his light at the fox
just a tale carrying truths
by the way
the sun doesn't really set in the ocean.
knowing that your caves still cry for the warmth of the beams
later that night
My friends and I
sat in the briar patch, around the light of a cell phone
reading the long
rambling
angry
curses of a parasite crying in the darkness for blood.
The Brer Rabbit in me
no longer wanted to waste energy
on playing with the fox with a taste for rabbit blood.

You called it artificial light
but I still see you trying to catch the rays
and travel down the paths I've blazed
as you meet the toll takers who tell you
this ain't the path for you
go that way
you can still sniff the mattresses of Kilpatrick
and piano benches if you go that way
so there you stand
still a reflection
trying to be the earth with moon-like tendencies
You can take all of my stories and poems
and try to re-write them in your own words
and think your justified

Some would call it theft
but I call it a fee,
as gentlemen always pay for... services rendered
I guess my flashlight was really a grow light
or a clone light
and a night light
But each time you look in the mirror
and see a glimpse of me
ask yourself
Whose light is artificial?
Whose light is reflected?
and
Whose light is this?


Class dismissed