Me and John Lennon

As a kid,
I'd listen to him on vinyl
drinking my dad's Full Sail brews...
and I could never get my fill

Vacationing on the Oregon Coast
(where we visited an oyster factory
and I went past the tourist front
into the back and rapped freely
con Mexicanos working hard,
listening to Mariachii)
I read a biography of him that
was not so flattering
but which nonetheless helped me to
a deeper admiration of the walrus king

In Thailand,
I got into his solo work
and agreed about "a brotherhood of man"
that "we all shine on"
and that "whatever gets you through the night"
is all right, it's all right...
(going through a period of superstition
and living a strange life of dragon beer,
huge gnarled palm trees, ceiling climbing geckos,
the elephant god Pikanet, "sexy sadie" and "helter skelter,"
diverse Buddhist monks all wearing
their Orange garbs as quintessentially Thai
as rice farms or monkey fur)
I came to briefly believe
I was his re-incarnation

I was technically wrong of course
but truly correct:
John and I are kindred souls,
weathered and betrayed by society
nourished and damaged by drugs...
seeking love and riches,
fame and peace