We would rather risk it all than change
Flotation tanks for a system that sank beneath the waves
So, we stop and search the ocean floor for broken pieces
A token thesis to iron out the creases…on a grave
We want to believe that we're the less deceived
Clinging to any old conspiracy debris
Torchlit processions and a bandaged ear,
Your mind's not your own when you're so full of fear
I've been travelling at the speed of regret
Unravelling the etiquette, endlessly pushing reset
Wishing I had said what I should've said
Deciphering a vision that used to make sense
If you wanna rise up, root down
And dig up an idea buried underground
A sound ringing out to ask for more
Than every tired thing we've tried before
Than highlights of a virtual place
Pinecones in a hillside blaze
Opulence on an ancient scale
Precision-guided folktales
With new pharaohs and kings
Nostalgia, snake oil, dopamine
Engine running, mission to mars
Stained glass windows in an abattoir
Down the rabbit hole beyond return
Do you ever read the books you burn?
The glowing verbs, the flesh of nouns,
Public discourse debased by clowns,
Our collective compass demagnetised
By the night time boat rides to watch the genocide
Take a dead sea scroll on a camera phone
The scars sealed up with liquid gold
Like raku glowing in the blue light screen.
I keep a spirit level on the mantlepiece
But we would rather risk it all than change
And every day - have it all explained
By would-be dictators who play the victim
Or the aggregated logic of an algorithm
Or the influencer who bought a big cigar
And brags about his ******* car
And promises lost sheep they can be wolves
Like dual carriageways cut through hills
Still in the wilderness, says the GPS
Love quietly fossilising beneath the surface
The circus has left town but the tightrope stays
We would rather repeat history than disobey
For now, silence
For now, a slow intake of breath
For now, kindred spirits
For now, picking up the pieces of what's left
Try not to get too drunk on this sadness
Today's empires are tomorrow's ashes
I want to be alive in this world at the same time as you
No matter what it is that we have to go through
Like ***** defiantly pushing through ruins
I still dream that life is beautiful
So let stubborn hope have the hour
Be a bridge to the future
Cherish the thought that brings us closer
Refuse to salute - ignore the order
But pick up the notification
That says freedom doesn't exist in isolation
That we're all birds in a murmuration
Feathers shimmering in the twists and the turns
Of a melody they can't silence and a book they can't burn
So be deliberate, create art
And plant new seeds with a broken heart
