Swamp Song

Did they call you nature boy
Did they say your name wrong
Did they make fun of your dad
Because he cried at baseball
Do you feel you’re out of place
When you wear a collar
Come on down into the swamp
And hop into the water
Disappear into the trees
Where no one knows you’re gone
Ghosts of aunts and ancestors
Are here where you belong
Make a muddy mausoleum
Hidden in the weeds
Catch a slimy pickerel
Just don’t touch his teeth
Put your boots on and your bug spray
Even if you’ve had a rough day
Time to let go of the small things
Don’t you know the swamp is calling
Tell your mother and your father
You are headed for the water
Tell your sister, tell your cousin
Can’t you hear the crickets buzzing
Holy heady hellgrammites
Hunting in the bog at night
Hunted hollow creeping crawling
Can’t you hear the swarm is calling
Put your boots on and your bug spray
Even if you’ve had a rough day
Time to let go of the small things
Don’t you know the swamp is calling
Grab a net but better hurry
Tell your parents not to worry
Water sloshes your galoshes
Tell your mother not to wash it
Climb a tree and close your eyes
It would be so bad to die!
Hide amongst the ants and plants
Just don’t meet the cormorant!