looking up from the page

there's softer light but not much softer heat
we do our work and wonder at the peace
workers are bustling up and down the street
there's softer light but not much softer heat

we work and think to quite another beat
there's much to do and we all fear to cease
there's softer light but not much softer heat
we do our work and wonder at the peace

and in comes the worm

the guru on the mountaintop just lies
no special knowledge comes from pain
there is less hope in sunlight than in rain
what fool us most of all are our bare eyes
all change involves whatever's born or dies
the loss of some may not be others' gain
truth is too often complex and not plain
the final winners are the rats and flies
you can't refuse or opt out of the game
for fear that on the next turn you might win
there's never any reason to drop out
our hopes and nightmares don't add up to shame
we let the top continue on its spin
and hope that victory will not turn to rout

alien places

a name once uttered is a solid fact
the label that will haunt you unto death
the virtual person turned into an act
a name once uttered is a solid fact

we see the city after it's been sacked
and yet it's beauty still can stop our breath
a name once uttered is a solid fact
the label that will haunt you unto death

underlying all reality

answers are so simple yet we'll shrink
from saying anything that might annoy
the ones who powerful forces may deploy
and drive us all right over the brink
it's one thing when we hear glasses clink
as our grand masters agree to destroy
all of our hopes or use them as a toy
to keep us all distracted while they drink
no truths are hidden by the coming night
that aren't invisible at blazing noon
the world has never been a simple place
we cannot choose at first or second sight
the sun is more deceiving than the moon
and the swift runner may not win the race

recalling a proverb

potemkin village
all that we see turns out false
but pretty pictures

we know our leader
cannot tell us any truth
and thinks of nothing

facts are enemies
reality is evil
only lies matter

too long forgotten
is the very simple truth
good wine needs no bush

Moving (for A.S.)

In a new city
all of life is fresh and strange,
making home takes time.