Samba

Construction

Made love as if it were the last time
Kissed woman as if she were the last one
And each kid as if they were the only one
And crossed the streets with his shy step
Climbed the construction as if he were a machine
And built in the landing four solid walls
Brick by brick in a magical design
His eyes dulled by cement and tears
Sat down to rest as it were Saturday
Ate rice and beans as he were a prince
Then drank and belched as if he were a castaway
And danced and laughed as if he were listening to music
And stumbled in the sky as though he were a drunk
And floated in the air as though he were a bird
And finished on the ground in a messy heap
And agonized in the middle of the public sidewalk
Died on the wrong way bothering the traffic

Made love that time as if he were the best
Kissed woman as if she were the only one
And each kid as if they were the prodigal
And crossed the streets with his drunken step
Climbed the construction as if it were solid
And built in the landing four magical walls
Brick by brick in a logical design
His eyes dulled by the cement and traffic
Sat down to rest as he were a prince
Ate rice and beans as if it were the best
Then drank and belched as if he were a machine
And danced and laughed as if he were the next one
And stumbled in the sky as though listening to music
And floated in the air as if it were Saturday
And finished on the ground in a shy heap
And agonized in the middle of the castaway sidewalk
Died on the wrong way bothering the public

Made love that time as if he were a machine
Kissed woman as if it were logical
And built in the landing four flaccid walls
Sat down to rest as if he were a bird
And floated in the air as if he were a prince
And finished on the ground in a drunken heap
He died on the wrong way bothering Saturday

For this bread to eat, for this ground to sleep
The birth certificate and the license to smile
For letting me breathe, for letting me exist
God shall reward you
For the free liquor that we all have to swallow
For the smoke and the misfortune, that we all have to cough
For the hanging scaffold from which we all have to fall
God shall reward you
For the moaning woman to praise us and spit at us
And for the flies to kiss us and cover us
And for the final peace that in the end will redeem us
God shall reward you