Once Upon A Time

It seems to me that mankind’s intellect has outgrown his instinct. Where once we roamed freely in small numbers using all our intelligence and skills to battle the elements, fight of predators, feed and clothe ourselves and stay alive, now we are in the business of sanitising life.

In the plastic universe of our creation, where nature is banned or tamed, we are shackled by our laws. We still have the tribal instincts. The skills, camaraderie and bravery that once meant life and death for all the tribe now count for nothing. Health and Safety rules. Life has to be saved. But life has no substance or meaning.

Our young people are aimlessly drifting.

It is no wonder that some of them drift into religion as an answer. They are searching for purpose. They want more than gang violence and the endless, vacuous night out on the town.

 

Once Upon A Time 

Once a tiny tribe

Roamed, following the meat,

Now a teeming mass

With more than it can eat.

Once wild and free,

Bonding in brotherhood.

Now restrained by law,

Rampaging in the neighbourhood.

Once master of skills,

Living by their wits.

Now a gang of fools

With whom no purpose sits.

Once proud, strong and true,

Now posturing on corners, wondering what to do.

 

In the concrete and plastic

Of a man-made universe,

Where decisions are all drastic

And answers perverse,

The human race has come to this –

A smoke, a shag and a lot of piss.

 

Opher 19.12.2015