SECTION TWELVE
POETRY PAGE TWO

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COLUMN NINETY-FOUR, JULY 1, 2003
(Copyright © 2003 The Blacklisted Journalist)

THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED 2003

(apologies, acknowledgements, and endless blessings to Gil Scott-Heron)

you will not be able to stay home, brother.
you will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
you will not be able to lose yourself on sex, caffeine
and investment portfolios
you will not be able to just say no
and skip out to smoke cloves during commercials,
because the revolution will not be televised.

the revolution will not be televised.
the revolution will not be brought to you by
the john d. macarthur foundation and documented by
ken burns over four nights on public tv
the revolution will not show you pictures of george w. bush
dressed in fatigues, blowing his nose, saying "newkular?
while leading a charge by donald rumsfeld, john ashcroft
and tom delay to eat hog maws confiscated from a harlem sanctuary
under the auspices of the patriot act

the revolution will not be brought to you by 
clear channel communications and will not star
julia roberts and richard gere
or homer simpson and pee wee herman.
the revolution cannot be downloaded to your computer
and burned onto a cd, dvd or squeezed into an mp3
the revolution will not make you hot
or marry the bachelor.
the revolution will not help you find organic viagra
extend your penis
enhance your breasts
or help you find a mortgage at %0 interest.  

there will be no pictures of you and jerry springer
being surprised by a long lost stalker
msnbc will not be able to play hardball
cnn will go out for a pizza
fox news will be forced to read the constitution because
the revolution will not be televised.  

will and grace, american idol and jay leno
will no longer be so damned relevant, and
no one will give a righteous rat's ass whether or not
the tribe has spoken
because people will be in the street
in the park
in the country
dancing naked
and looking for a brighter day.  

there will be no film at eleven
or on the half hour
there will be no pictures of cross-dressing militants
waiting in line to be interviewed
by geraldo rivera packing heat
or jesse ventura holding a bra up to the light
to look for a hidden microphone
the theme song will not be written by sammy cahn
nor sung by n'sync, britney spears, madonna, or wayne newton
 

the revolution will not get jiggy with it
get word to your mother
give a shit who let the dogs out
or who got milk
the revolution will not be digitized
analyzed
stigmatized
or sanitized for your protection

the revolution will not fall down and
not be able to get it up
the revolution will not cure
the heartbreak of psoriasis
herpes
chicken pox
smallpox
inject your eyelids with botox
but will cause a massive reaction to
pax americana

the revolution will not be right back
after a word from sprint pcs
verizon wireless
cingular wireless
or some cat dander ragweed astrologer
the revolution will not be recommended
by four out of five doctors
or have side effects that include
temporary weight gain
dizziness
blurred vision
dry mouth
constipation
depression
hallucinations
the revolution will not be for the sea-food lover in you
the revolution will not go down easy.
 

the revolution will not be televised,
will not be televised,
will not be televised,
will not be televised.
the revolution will not be re-run in syndication
or shown on instant replay
or shown on instant replay
the revolution will be live
the revolution will be real

Paul McDonald " 2003
Based on The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
By Gil Scott-Heron " 1970

Check out original lyrics at http://www.gilscottheron.com/lyrevol.html

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