Lay Your Wager Down

Ellis Paul

You're my flesh and blood

But we're not the same

a common name

and now

a common distance

I looked up to you

in your plush armchair

respect or fear

I couldn't see the difference



Lay your wager down

Who'll be king in Tinsel Town?

`Cause all the prophets and the gypsies

on the strip in Venice Beach

Have looked me in the eye

and said, "Your dreams still lie in reach"

and who am I to doubt them

and who are you

to write these speeches?



Is it my poverty

That brings a blush to you?

Or the honesty

that speaks the mind

that comes with it



Were you once a man

with younger eyes

a hungry pride

that would not feel

resistance?



Lay your wager down

They're crowning the king in Tinsel Town

There are strangers, there are lovers

out on Fairfax in a line

They look me in the eye

and say "Our thoughts are intertwined"

and who am I to doubt them?

And who are you to tear down

these signs?