over in Shafter
that little farm town
all the Julios drink cerveza
with mucho gusto
the air always wet with
the smell of insecticide
most people know that
it's eating them up
you can buy fruit
and vegtables
on any country corner
and a taco
here and there
inside the white community
talk is always about
next years crop and
which is more powerful
the .357 or the .44 mag
morals are strict
adhered to for a while
most kids dream of
getting the hell out
around the pungent smell
of a smoking pot pipe
the new Miss Shafter
got pregnant and
fueled the gossip fire
the mayor will speak
of prosperity but
it's the same old
curtains open and lookyloos
gather when the county
sheriff shows up
to evict someone
or one can always
visit the skinheads
in Oildale next door
to Bakersfield and the
rednecks tweakers and crackheads
but it is green
the cornucopia of America........