Reprint of a reprint

Thanksgiving Prayer

Written and delivered by William S. Burroughs, 1986.


For John Dillinger
In hope he is still alive

Thanks for the wild turkey and the Passenger Pigeons,
destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts —

thanks for a Continent to despoil and poison —

thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and danger —

thanks for vast herds of bison to kill and skin, leaving the carcass to rot —

thanks for bounties on wolves and coyotes —

thanks for the AMERICAN DREAM to vulgarize and falsify until the bare lies shine through —

thanks for the KKK, for nigger-killing lawmen feeling their notches,
for decent church-going women with their mean, pinched, bitter, evil faces —

thanks for “Kill a Queer for Christ” stickers —

thanks for laboratory AIDS —

thanks for Prohibition and the War Against Drugs —

thanks for a country where nobody is allowed to mind his own business —

thanks for a nation of finks — yes,

thanks for all the memories… all right, let’s see your arms…
you always were a headache and you always were a bore —

thanks for the last and greatest betrayal,
of the last and greatest of human dreams.



(Copped off the brilliant Brett Schutzman site - Maproom Systems - http://www.maproomsystems.org/ As usual I can't manage a hyperlink and I don't link him over there ---> because I haven't met him (yet). I can't seem to get the gumption and the transportation together to ever get over to one of those "beer with bloggers" things in Ypsi. Not that the quality of the blog lately has been up to that par, (you know why I can't get it up). But I really, really like his site and he reminded me of this Burroughs thing I had forgotten about. It sums up one facet of my holiday feelings, especially about "Black Friday".

The Burroughs things I can ever reliably remember are that life is "the ticket that explodes". There are some personal quotes I'll always remember but it suddenly seemed not right to print them here since it was in conversation with a friend of mine who disseminated the most interesting of them.)