Cold Comfort Flowers

Peace sign on the window
Japanese car

You will remember the pap on the radio
Big blue policeman says stay where you are
Surrender your Chinese arms

Rock show Romeo
Black and white shoes
Strawberry haircut, in fist-pumping prime
Scrape off the dross, keep what you can use
And leave the weaker ones behind

They step outside to step out slow
In vain trying to find a hole they can't outgrow
They evolve in time
Wind finely on the vine
Climbing toward the spots in the sun
An unwelcome fate
May ferry all away
But cold comfort flowers
Will bloom and decay

Pink clouds, summer sorrow
Oceanside swales
If you don't feel pretty
With your face in the tide
Well, file your complaint in weary detail
And tell the little people you tried
They step outside to step out slow
In vain trying to find a hole they can't outgrow
They evolve in time
Wind finely on the vine
Climbing toward the spots in the sun
An unwelcome fate
May ferry all away
But cold comfort flowers
Will blossom and fade