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Vincent Spada's The Lighter Fluid Gang: Members Wanted...
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One of the coolest parts of being the Books Examiner is having the ability to share new voices with you. A few days ago, I received an email from an aspiring writer who had stumbled upon my column. I was intrigued by what he had to say, and decided to do a little research. What I found was a poem called The Lighter Fluid Gang. Its author, Vincent Spada, has graciously allowed me to reprint it here.
The Lighter Fluid Gang
If you don't dig phonies
or frauds or fakes
If you see politically correct
as just many mistakes
If you think for yourself
and speak without slang
Then you're one of us:
The Lighter Fluid Gang
If you're honest and upfront
and say what you mean
If you walk the line straight
and play the game clean
If you're not full of crap
and still have some pride
Then this is your group
and this is your side
If you're just a nobody
A no one from nowhere
Yet still speak your mind
and still really care
Then you've got courage
in no small amount
This means you matter
This means you count
You may feel all alone
but that just isn't so
If you walk with us now
there's no telling where we'll go
All travelers are welcome
regardless of your position
All people, all races
One voice, one mission
Here then is our cause
Our sacred mandate
To convert the whole world
without malice or hate
We ask nothing so complicated
and nothing so tough
Just be truthful in life
That alone is enough
So that is our message
and that is our plan
To say what we think
and to help if we can
That's what we strive for
Our hopes on this hang
This is who we are
The Lighter Fluid Gang
Copyright Vincent Spada 2008
(Written 9/19/08)
Vincent Spada is 32 years old and lives in Massachusetts. He has been writing seriously for twelve years, with works published in a few dozen small magazines and newspapers, including “Kip Kellogg,” a monthly column that ran in the Washington Free Press. He says, I am not yet a professional writer or poet, but I do hope to attain that title in the very near future. Vincent maintains a web-site-poemsinthedark.com-and encourages you to visit.
Of The Lighter Fluid Gang, Vincent writes, It is simply a philosophy. A way of thinking. It's merely a rejection of all that is wrong with the modern world: Greed, falsehood, phoniness…To be a member of this gang all you have to do is be honest: Whatever you are, just be that. No more making up stories to feel important, and no more lying to build yourself up in the eyes of others. If you care about yourself at all, then you should put a stop to that…If it's honest, then it's got dignity, and one should never be ashamed of that…
Kindly, Vincent is offering buttons depicting The Lighter Fluid Gang Logo to anybody who may be interested in promoting this philosophy. If you would like one, please contact him at vinspada@yahoo.com.
Currently in discussions with a UK publisher, Vincent is hoping to release his first collection of poetry, Poems in the Dark in the near future. And when he does, you can bet that Books Examiner will spread the word!
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