The Song Fight Bulletin Board

The Strong Button
by Lichen Throat

One last day,
until you leave here.
I begged you then,
“Don’t volunteer.”
Gone, gone away,
to the colony.
Don’t cry when
I’m left in agony.
Drifting through the stars,
Will you think of me?
When you set your foot on Mars,
Where will I be?

I still wear
The sweater you knit.
The strong button holds
It tight around my neck.
Blue mohair
Shimmers in the light,
Keeps away the cold
On long walks at night.
Drifting through the stars,
Will you think of me?
When you set your foot on Mars,
Where will I be?

Screaming down through the atmosphere
Heartbeat fast, fluttering with fear.
Retro rockets fire: land with a jerk.
Open the hatch; get to work.

Photo of you
On Olympus Mons,
Red sands for miles,
Dim light of dawn.
White, bulky suit
Seals in your air.
Big toothy smile,
Wisps of your hair.
Colonist of Mars,
Do you think of me?
Alone beneath the stars,
What do you see?

I’ve got to let you go.
I’ve got to let you go.

Sun sinks down
Your planet’s light appears.
Tinge of regret,
But no more tears.
Shake off my frown,
Grass between my toes.
The light of sunset
Fades to afterglow.
Colonist of Mars,
Do you think of me?
Memory is ours,
But now you’re free.

The Strong Button
by Vowl Sounds

My circadian rhythms are as syncopated as a second hand playing on the off beat
Stay up until the shadows fall apart, my mind races in the dark for miles and miles until I fall asleep
Delirious
Sleepwalking through the day
It gets so hard to focus, to stay awake...

So I push the button that makes the coffee strong
And on the radio there's boilerplate reaming of some candidate, they say he won't last long
He'd hesitate to push the big red button and keep our nation safe
So all the Strangelove cowboys are buzzing round like pundit hornets, hawkish and irate

There's gotta be some metaphor for this. Or would it be synecdoche, outstretched fingers standing for a fist?
You know the button that makes the coffee stronger, all it really does is drag the dripping out for longer
The ingredients: identical
But all it adds is time
Moving slowly

So I push the button that makes the coffee strong
And on the radio they're swinging swords, rattled sabers, heated words, Alas, Alas, Babylon!
The birds are singing outside the window, some earnest 60s folk song
("We Shall Overcome, We Shall Overcome")
"This Machine Kills Fascists" is stickered on the ashes of idealists, resting peaceful, long gone

Our leader's finger hovering over the strong red button, so goddamn ready to press it
The weaker way is faster but the glory will surpass the real strength that gets ignored, goddamn, it gets depressing!
Exhausted
Waiting for a change
But it all just seems to stay the same...

The Strong Button
Pigfarmer Jr

You told me twice that you're feeling
Like your drowning in the sun
You just don't understand
How everyone's having fun

And I'm feeling bad for you
But I just don't understand
How you could feel that way
With the water licking at the sand

If I could push a button
To make me strong
Strong enough to be there for you
That's what I would do
I'd push that button for you

You hold my hand, give it a squeeze
Tell me to go enjoy the day
You say you'll be alright
Even though you'd like me to stay

With a kiss I leave you there
Feeling lonely in the sun
It isn't until later
I realize what I've done

If I could push a button
To make me strong
Strong enough to be there for you
That's what I would do
I'd push that button for you

It's been a while since I've seen
All these friends of ours
But I'd trade every moment
To be there for you

If I could push a button
To make me strong
Strong enough to be there for you
That's what I would do
I'd push that button for you