Bad Band

I’m pretending to be
a bad band
silenced by changing tastes

sitting round mourning the fads
of the record industry
and the general public

scheming publicity stunts
and abrupt shifts in musical direction
under the guise of experimentation and growth

or perhaps instead actually thinking 
and planning experimentation and growth
as inspired by changing musical directions

knowing that no one
will believe the latter
makes for bitter blather

I pretend I’m a bad band
because the alternative
is to face myself as a bad man

and know that no one else
can possibly have my back
when it comes to reinvention