The Storyteller's Verse

Gather 'round and listen close, I've got a tale for you Of a tower made of glass and gold on Fifth Avenue A former king, a story told in a courtroom, stark and cold Where a dozen faces, plain and true, watched a new history unfold Thirty-four times the gavel fell, a felony's sharp sting A verdict whispered, then a yell, what will the summer bring? Come the seventh month, a date is set, to measure out the cost For the first time that a president has ever truly lost. Oh, the wheel of fortune turns and grinds The same old stories for these new minds

The headlines shout, the leaders call But the sun still sets and the rain will fall I've seen this play a thousand times before Then packed my bag and walked right out the door. Across the sea where sands are red and olive trees don't grow A paper branch for the countless dead, a chance to let peace flow From the White House lawn, a hopeful plea, a plan in stages three To break the walls and set them free, for all the world to see Hamas has nodded, Israel waits, a fragile, hopeful pause To mend the wounds and change the fates, and rewrite bitter laws.

Oh, the wheel of fortune turns and grinds The same old stories for these new minds The headlines shout, the leaders call But the sun still sets and the rain will fall I've seen this play a thousand times before Then packed my bag and walked right out the door. But here at home, the wind bites deep, the clouds are turning gray While promised harvests are hard to keep, and folks still have to pay The price of gas to get to town, the cost of bread and grain A heavy worry bears you down, an old and tired pain

The sky turned green on Texas plains, the twisters roared with claw And out west where it never rains, the sun's a burnin' law. They write it all in black and white, a verdict's heavy reach A distant war, a fragile light, a lesson they all teach And what I sing of worldly cost, of markets tossed and turned Is general news of what's been lost, not advice that must be learned It's just a tale, take it from me, for you to hear and see. Oh, the wheel of fortune turns and grinds The same old stories for these new minds The headlines shout, the leaders call

But the sun still sets and the rain will fall I've seen this play a thousand times before Then packed my bag and walked right out the door.