Music: Aja Monet/Burniss Earl Travis II/Justin Brown/Josh Johnson/Daniel Mintseris
Lyrics: Aja Monet
Burning bushes pop across a screen
Threads of prayers between watch duty-app notifications
Evacuate Hollyweird
Gridlocked in sparks of fear, an arsonist's wet dream
Rolling down Runyon Canyon
Weather in the mind
Santa Ana's hands shivering against the window
Shattered winds, ash on the lung, aĀ sky of blazing breath
A flame on the distance looking back, the hue of cough
The scent of tickling sneeze, it has not rained, it has not rained
Dry as silence in the dragon's mouth, boulevards between capitalism's teeth
A neon cotton candy cloud hovers over Koreatown buildings at midnight
Hungry for water, hungry for water
A rusted sunset, some say smart meters
Directed energy weapons or Edison powerlines are to blame
An oligarch's impending inauguration
The mayor's in Ghana for dutty December
Neoliberal Americans in Africa on the rise
From Palisades to Palestine
An actress compares the L.A. oceanfront to Gaza
Never mentions the Rafah border
The cut off of two thousand aid trucks
Neglects to mention body bags, rubble or the Israeli snipers aimed at children
But everyone's donating their wardrobe to people without closets
Can a millionaire be homeless?
All of a sudden we know the meaning of community
All of a sudden the spirit of giving is in the air
The people kindle around the flame
Nothing like disaster to shock a heart into beating
The feel-good volunteers did reiki before they dropped off outfits for people with no events to attend
Skid Row knows how to read the room-less
The undocumented avoid handouts framed in the halls of fascism
To be on house arrest with no house
Just arrested
Everyone's worried about clean air
HEPA can't filter this corruption, maybe
Maybe socialism is on its way
Look at us, look at us who took the breeze for granted
Running faucet of dreams, mutual aid
Octavia Butler newscasting premonitions from a gravesite in Altadena
The ghosts of consequence stain the air
What's the insurance policy for chickens coming home to roost?
What's the insurance policy for chickens coming home to roost?
Dumpster diving
The nudge that brings us to kneel
Everyone is living their life on layaway
Buy now, pay later
Kidnapped by masked, ice-cold blooded agents
SOS formation of bodies near the Everglades, gullible, low frequency
No research, no risk taking
Four drunk travelers with bloodshot eyes sip on sweating beer cans just off the corner
Waiting out the downtown protests
A trans woman in a burgundy crop top with yellow geometric sunglasses and an ivory umbrella shielding the sun
Sips on iced tea from her straw
The universe is universing
The tow truck tricksters try to boost the tires of the people
Pawns pedaling for the state
Every job, every job can be undone by the will of the worker who sees fit
To serve a good greater than petty personal pocket delusions
Troops are everywhere
A country torn apart doom scrolling debris
The "What can you do for me,Ā Cashapp me in my caption, get over, get ahead culture, open tabs" generation
In the echo chambers of greed
A bunch of individuals who want to go viral over commentary, all caps baby boomer text threads
No spine having ****
Dumb as doorknobs
When people show you who they are
Believe them