Me, Zool and Our Friend Working on the campaign for Norman Siegel
oh, the places you’ll go
oh, the people you meet
when you work for a true rebel
who can bring the forgotten to their feet
oh, the people I met today
when I went to Brooklyn for the West Indian Parade.
We were marching, and I got separated from our contingent
with a guy named Zool
middle-aged of Jewish heritage
and he’s never stopped being a hippie.
He’s worked with the homeless for a long time
he’s helped grow the green party
he walked away from Hollywood
to make independent films
and he’s living right now
in an ecologically self-sustained community in the South Bronx
and he knows where it’s at
love, peace, bliss
and he knows he ain’t down with
materialism, greed, racism, injustice, brutality
he knows how to live and bask in humanity
without the fails of human nature
and we couldn’t work our way through the crowd
so we stopped at a corner
they were blasting rap
and a traveling man stopped by us
in a worn wife-beater, wiry dreadlocks hanging from his head
with only a stickered flute-case in his hands
he asks for some Norman Siegel stickers for the case
says wherever he travels
he takes stickers with him to remember
so, of course, we got down to talking
bout the life of the day’s parade
they started blasting Tupac down on the corner
we talked about music
related the stories of our lives
and we spoke at length about spirituality
they both affirmed that they never stopped being a hippie
and they embraced me as a good model
for the next generation
our friend told me he could see I had sincere eyes
Zool said he’d be proud to have a son like me
we spoke of love
of bringing peace, for, as our friend told us,
"the peacemaker shall receive treasures in heaven."
He’s a true Christian
not the money-grubbing kind
but one who knows the real intention of the Bible
Jesus may be misinterpreted and disregarded
by today’s self-acclaimed Christians
he may be an excuse to hate and war
but the man’s message was of love and peace
of mental emancipation and spiritual salvation
so if a preacher asks for money
or encourages war or urges hate
the man preaches evil, his message is fake
it’s such interpretations so spurious
that make the three of us so furious cuz though televangelists want your money
all they should really want is your love
the man said, if you were to be perfect
give all that you have to the poor and come follow me.
That’s just what our friend did six months ago
a truck, house and job, gave it away
now he’s homeless- by choice
a street musician
always figured he’d be a bum or a musician
so he decided he’d be both
living in a shelter now, but what of it?
in peace he lives
with love to give
Zool congratulated him for his emancipation
said he does his own ritual of worship
but all gods are the same
though different in number and in name
if it is beauty, love and creation
that’s god
I see nature as the higher being
and when I see a tree in the breeze
that’s my daily reminder of all things divine
I say to them...
been an atheist most my life
cuz the Christians I’ve come across
have no idea where it’s really at
but when I came to know what the Bible really stood for
I could dig
and after I saw American Beauty
and could see beauty
I could dig
and when I started to write
and live to create
I dug spirituality
where the religion comes in, though
I take my shovel from the ground
when you try to sell spirituality
with fear of hellfire
the love leaves the hole I dug
cuz when I stop digging
the dirt piles back in
cuz there ain’t no room for no goodness in religion
save that for spirituality.
There came a time
when the three of us had to part
so we gave him the address
of Norman’s office
told him stop by sometime.
The three of us
who know truth, love, beauty, creation
had to part... but
he told us he loved us
we were brothers
and, ya know, I love all y’all
if you know love
can live in love
you can be love
I love ya man
keep up the lovin’
world needs more love