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, but
Rampaging in the neighbourhood.
Where once masters 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.
An empty life
An empty mind
With nothing in front
And nothing behind.
Opher 19.12.2015
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, all now count for nothing. Health and Safety rules life. Life has to be saved. But life has no substance or meaning.
Our young people are aimlessly drifting in a plastic universe.
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. They want meaning, purpose and fulfilment. We give them safety as a sop.