Searching for more silver
And grains of gleaming gold
For eminence and esteem —
The prominent pastime of old

A constant quest
For more than can be
Possibly possessed
For power and oppression —
Hopelessly obsessed

Since the completion of the start
And commencement of the end
There’s one thing that’s always been —
Greed
The one mortal flaw
That unifies us all
And hardens the softest heart

Greater wages for less labor
A goal for all to share
For awe and admiration
From those who couldn’t care

To sustain self-certitude
For success and satisfaction
Use not fraudulent force
But the Heart’s pure application

Naive expectations
Of younger generations
“Have all or not a thing”
to gain what you’ve sought
and lose what you’ve got
Portrait of a dying king….

Moving through confusion
Moving through the breeze
Between the crowded minds
That walk the city streets

Avoiding hope and vision
Avoiding common change
Traveling the darkened road
Wondering if indifference guides their way

Trying to break away from stagnant fear
Hoping one day to sail the open sea
Losing ground while others follow
In the footsteps of thoughts set free —
Distrusting their gut feeling
Not taking the forbidden risk
Unlike many before who tried
And jumped ahead in steady stride

Running around in circles
Running around unclear
Searching for the open door
To let their dreams appear

Not wanting what they’ve seen
Not liking what they’ve read
Trying to light the darkened road
Wondering if progress lies far ahead…

A tired and painful journey
Trying like all the rest
Giving everything there is
Striving to be the best

Drawn towards a common goal
Competing with swifter feet
Others passing on their way
Trying to avoid defeat
Fighting to win — never losing stride
Hating to lose — never losing pride

A spirit burns within the soul
Looking for the secret to success
Adrenaline generates fevered confidence
To be the best

With common fame and glory
An ignorance comes to pass
Unaware of trifle motives
Which in the end come last

Making way for the future
Which greedy hands erect
The unstable satisfaction
That foolish desires reflect…

Personal achievement — the greatest win
To finish last — a personal sin

We read things we know aren’t true
And pretend to do things we can’t do
But we play along
So we can stay in the game

Materializing thoughts and words
Making moves that are so absurd
That we fail to see
We are all to blame

We blind our children’s eyes
We fill their heads with lies
And speak of the untruths that we’ve read
Fiction shapes their minds
Leaving them hypnotized
While we go on as if nothing was ever said

As we stand for all that’s right
We sit and watch our children fight
With empty pride
To save some other land

Reality is fictitious
In a world so proud and vicious
Does it all make sense?
I don’t understand…

Divided by primitive boundaries
Drawn by primitive minds
Neighbors become inches too close
And worlds apart

An intense infatuation
With extreme exaggeration
Overcome with freedom
United independently

To conquer or defend
Against the unseen fear
That has grown within
Seeking separation
From the unseen world
In common desperation

All of our secrets camouflaged
Our weakneses unexposed
When it seems that they might get too close
We push ourselves away

A governed imagination
Secured at every station
Overcome with freedom
More than was bargained for

Building higher walls
To separate us all
Divided we stand
Together we fall…

Maximum input level
Ultra-high frequency
Computer malfunction
Minimum density

Reactions modified
To concur with
Unconscious thoughts
Subliminal messages
To change things
You’ve been taught

Hence the stage of unwarranted
Systems override
You know what’s wrong
You know what’s right
You are strong
Put up a fight
Resist temptation
Decision: OVERLOAD
Systems override

Distorted feelings inside
Controlled expressions out
Syntax error
Redo without a doubt

All signals distorted
Transmissions are cut short
System takeover
Reprogram: ABORT…

They walk the night in aimless vain
Silent and unsure
Restless and remote
To find a place that’s never been

Like lost sheep without a flock
Fearless and forgotten
Quiet and cool
Souls caught in an unknown world

Another day is
One more thing
To just fade away
Life without purpose
Life without a smile
Wishing they could stay
For just a little while…

Like a thunderstorm without a cloud
Without direction
Without aim
Voices without a sound

Trapped in a place they don’t belong
Feverish uncertainty guides them along
Wandering, discovering —
Hidden from the focused eye

Hoping for a single moment
Which we can call our own
Kicking and scratching to fit in
We fight for the bone
The Passion overwhelms us
The fires glow too bright
We stumble through each day
They slip away in the night…