Sweet William

The Image Role
(Thinking of All My Digger Friends)

Lookee where you put me up on an image of myself gaping in the
yawn of your
lazy afternoon.
Lookee where you found me up on a pedestal
drowning in the fog
of your own blind eyes.
Lookee here, I’m a hero now
I got it made
I even remember panty raids
coolin’ it behind my Hollywood shades
yeah, I’m a mean jelly bean, sweet and mean
I’m a hero, famous- a myth in my own time
a father mother figure outta line
a swingin’ singin’ holy man set afire
the gun in my pocket ain’t for hire.

I’ve got this image of myself pasted up on the walls
I’m a gypsy a tramp a healer and a vamp
everywhere I go people stop and stare
I’m known everywhere,
I was invented by media
a name that’s pretty trippy
even my friends ain’t sure
who they are anymore.
they’ve all got a hundred
million faces
just like me.
Whose brand name are you?
Or do you see
I’ve got this image built on solid air
of no name and fame and tricky business games.
But I’m going, the child is getting old
and everything it ever was
is all getting sold.
The tumble is to astonish! Oneself!

William Fritsch

from:
“Sleeping Where I Fall: A Chronicle”
By Peter Coyote