Thank you, Math For the constant reminder that the remainder by remembered Thank you, History For showing us where we were 1 to 150 million years ago Thank you, Nostalgia and Imagination Fictional Tragedy and Factual Allegory Color, Time and Sound Thank you, Hope Thank you, Future Thank you, Everything

Face it, you’re wasting your time in Stasis, disgracefully Defacing the clock to stop it Chasing you in slow motion, in slow motion I am just a plaid-clad cad with the big bad Post-grad gonads, I don’t take naps or Crap from nomads I’m a homebody, nobody can tell me I’m not living right, right, right Right now, I found A word, a cure, a heart, a hearth Assurances that hard, hard work Pays off, in the end, I promise you this stasis will end It’s basic arithmetic not Magic. For a lunatic it’s Tragic that you would let your Habits govern your emotions, your emotions Grab a bag, a setback, catch you on the next sack Why don’t you let your neck snap you to attention It’s not pretention to Say at your party, “Nobody can tell me, I’m not living right, right, right Right now, I found A word, a cure, a heart, a hearth Assurances that hard, hard work Pays off, in the end, I promise you this stasis will end Face it, you’re wasting your time Pacing this room in search of Patience. Your looming Imagination will fill in the gaps, fill in the gaps I am just a plaid-clad cad with the big bad Post-grad gonads, I can read maps and Slap back nomads I’m a homebody, nobody can tell me I’m not living right, right, right Right now, I found A word, a cure, a heart, a hearth Assurances that hard, hard work Pays off, in the end, I promise you this stasis will end When you make it end

When she started dating Kim I thought how could she choose him as her boyfriend I could be her boyfriend She said that I could be it, if only I were Viet And I knew it could never be Flashback, 8th grade social studies, My first Viet buddy, Her name was Thao but I taught her how To swear like an American girl I grew up, and she grew up And I tried to holler at her And I tried to pretend that my color didn’t matter Though she would laugh, she’d never turn her back On the differences between our worlds. When I saw her in the gym I swung out on forgotten limbs and thought I could be her boyfriend She said that I could be it, if only I were Viet And I knew it could never be Flashback to my days of Badminton When I was still smitten Here she was now, still the same old Thao At the intersection of our worlds We talked and we talked But I felt myself grow fatter As I filled up with the thought That I could never have her I could court by the court But would always fall short of turning This birdie into my girl I can order without pork and I can eat rice without a fork and I could be your boyfriend Tôi tên là Danny, Tôi không ăn thịt heo hey-o, hey-o, hey-o

Tell me what I sound like A kid with a brand new bike Or somebody looking for a fight Tell me what I am Am I a new man Can I help understand What it means to Rock/Rock & Roll Rock/Rock & Roll, Rock Tell me what I look like A comic standing at the mike A bad date calling it a night Tell me do I fit your mood Do I fit right in your groove Do I take you, break you, make you want to move To the sounds of Rock/Rock & Roll Rock/Rock & Roll, Rock Why can’t I just rock? Why do I ever have to get a job? Why can’t I just rock Until I drop Rock/Rock & Roll Rock/Rock & Roll, Rock Tell me what I sound like A boxer about to take a dive An artist starving to survive Tell me where I stand Do I need a new plan Am I doing everything I can To sound like Rock/Rock & Roll Rock/Rock & Roll, Rock

No more trains, no more planes, no more money around my neck No more crudo or prosciutto or a sandwich made of speck No more asking for directions, well there’ll still be some of that Dear Europe, thanks for everything, one day I will be back No more hostels, no more hotels, no more apartments made for crack No more luggage, no more baggage, no more back across my back No more counting all our money and then doing mental math Dear Europe, thanks for everything, goddamn I need a bath No more maps, no more guidebooks, no more all-day-long foot treks No more Italian, no more German, no “Magyar nem beselek” No more worrying about our travels until I was a nervous wreck Dear Europe, thanks for everything, now let me double check Did I leave anything behind? In Florence did I crane my neck and straighten out my spine In Barcelona did I find that I was finally recognized as a member of my other tribe For what seemed like the first time, Europe for the first time No more museums, no more sculptures that make allusions to the past No more facing our persecutors and the shadows that they cast No more symbol of my childhood ticking just a bit too fast Dear Europe, thanks for the memories, I know that they will last Dear Europe, thanks for everything, I hope it’s not the last Time

Il Dsauce takes museum steps, let’s out a sculptor’s breath As the chisel comes down, shaping sights and sounds Oh the ecstasy, the infamy, I’m here to announce that Danny has returned Torneammo al America Torneammo al buona terra Andiamo Torniamo Il Dsauce takes his first few steps into the blessed nests Of giants and madmen adding them to the dance Of discovery, of recovering his footing on dry land Torneammo al America Torneammo al buona terra Andiamo Torniamo Step into the center of This holy endeavor A gilded piece of heaven on Earth And all of this was once dirt And God made the dirt So maybe, so maybe The dirt doesn’t have to hurt me anymore, to hurt me anymore Il Dsauce takes to the winding steps, prays each is the last one left As the walls close in, he closes his hand onto hers and he Climbs and finds that work can be worth the corrective change of perspective Torneammo al America Torneammo al buona terra Andiamo Torniamo Torneammo al America Torneammo al buona terra Vorremo una buona sera