But my collection has no extrinsic value either"
"I know I'm not a millionaire
"Yes, this is the answer, this is the ending, I shall keep on running
Announced over closed circuit television
Meaningless cross references and laundry lists of nonsense
And if I'm running late, if I'm running a numbers game
When I roller bladed over to the Masonic Temple
These are illusions like the killing floor
I was ready, everyone else was asleep
And it's better to feel, pain is better than emptiness
Ed certainly could go on and on
With perhaps a slight tinge of glee
Ed's Picasso was an obvious forgery
Because a body in motion tends to stay emotional
Which is another reason why I'm here alone
Awaiting the endless end
And while it might have been a relief to see
His brain was buzzing, the way it always did just after 'Jeopardy'
Each and every evening, except for yesterday evening
Logical inconsistency is the Mr. Bubble I bathe in
And he did, and he would and he will
In an article in 'Art forum' entitled
"And if I make it to Arkansas, fine
When times had seemed slightly less bleak
Ed put on a red shirt and took a quick walk around the block
That I was right all along
I can laugh louder than the walls, the halls, the waterfalls
Louder than Charles De Gaul or Fulton Mall
Even though I don't believe in anything"
And give up and lay down and die
I don't believe in life or death
Nihilism knocked three times on the ceiling
Russian literature, Italian neorealism
That refused to acknowledge the value of art
There is only the end, no hope, no rope
He loaded up the micro bus with atlases and poseidons
"There is no life on this planet"
To play pinochle with Pope John Paul the First
That truly reflected his mood
'Cause we were all programmed to, even I fell for it
"I've had it", he sang, "I've had it with puns, alliteration
Ed spoke in a squeaky whiny voice
Ed walked away from the program feeling fortified and stapled
"I don't believe in reason, objective reality or collective farming
And laugh at it and laugh at myself
It doesn't matter, I shall keep on running"
Angels sang, "Heysanna, Hosanna"
"Jehovah One replaced all life with machinery five centuries ago
And I can turn it all around
And his Barbara Krugers had been irreparably damaged
"Come to think of it", Ed mused
I don't believe in public speaking
I would kill myself but I don't believe in suicide"
There is no reason to do anything"
I believe in the steam engine
But that's no reason to complain
The so-called Industrial Revolution
But when the darkness came, everybody went home
And headed for Pope County
I don't know why I don't just shut up
In the nose of unfulfilled promises
To the laminated roadkill coffee table that he had purchased
But I don't know what I'm laughing at
I really had no choice in the matter"
I don't know just what I think is so goddamn funny
Paralyzed prima-donnas danced in the streets all day
Despair is no fun anymore
'The Three Most Insignificant Paintings of Mark Rothko'
I shall drive without a license, without clothing, without direction"
But this was only because he couldn't be bothered
Ending is better than mending
While whistling softly to himself
And as long as he continues to pontificate pointlessly
By Rein Sanction and a few other bands from Gainesville
Until you or I or somebody does something about it
Senator Sterno of Louisiana
He reentered his apartment screaming
Doors of perception, windows of opportunity
This wasn't actually true
Ed asked his Picasso, "I'm a millionaire"
Here I am still, alone and trapped
To try to develop a manner of speaking
This is a vaccum, there is no air in this room
"Come to think of it, not only does art have no intrinsic value
"What do I have to complain about anyway?"
His three Rothkos had just been singled out
I will do nothing
Was just another hoax and we all fell for it
But the rosy fingers of dawn always inserted themselves
There is no reason to complain
