We’ve sold our souls – dirt cheap
not in a quick transaction
as the devil comes to us in our dreams
but in a gradual Faustian rhythm
piece by piece
just as we are depleting
our last hours of ancient sunlight
so goes our soul
as we frantically find ways to hold on to it
to hold
to grasp
to beg
to barter
never realizing that the search
the planning
the scheming
the fighting
the biting
the clawing
the raping
the praying
the playing
never realizing
there was a time that we didn’t search
there was a time we didn’t need
central AC, iced mocchachinos, and the next Star Wars sequel
We didn’t need cars, we had nowhere to go
We didn’t need entertainment, save the beat of our own hearts
in time to a limitless mind
we didn’t need alarm clocks with snooze alarms
because we had no jobs to be at
to spend 8 hours of our day
hawking placebos and flipping burgers
selling our energy
our thoughts
our time
our selves
for a minimum wage
of 5 dollars and 25 cents an hour
There was a time when those moments
and the living within them
was worth much more to us
than these things we think we now need
those moments were all we had
so much so that we became delirious in them
and covetous for more
we developed things outside of ourselves
that would create more of this time
and in so doing we lost it
the moments we cherished
where we once burned
continued to learn
who we are
in the world
around us
and what this life really is
and now we stop after prom
thinking it all figured out
believing all we know
on the word of those who have
sold their souls before us
and lean on these developments
these societies
these systems
these creations
these weapons
of mass destruction
of the human spirit
the very instinct that designates
the route of mallards in winter
the tides of the seas
the phases of the moon
the smell on the breeze
let us know of weather coming
and we knew it
and now we wonder
if the wacky weatherman
with his banter of anchors
really thinks its going to rain
cuz the skies sure look clear
because there is so much
we no longer notice
with the TV on
radio blaring
kids on Nintendo
cars whizzing by
neon lit strip malls
filled with more currency to buy yourself from you
to continue on in the beatless rhythm
of making you human
to further separate yourself
from what is going on around you
by these elaborate toys and gizmos
streaming media distracting you from the transaction at hand
from the plethora of false beliefs
we have held to for ages
though they only seek to separate us from each other
there was a time I wasn’t necessary
a poet on a corner
a preacher on a soapbox
a politician on a nickel
there was a time it was we
the distinctions were unknown
for we
were
all
One
the trees
the seas
the bees
the breeze
lions laid down with lambs
and we cuddled between them
the purr of the jungle cat
and the warmth of the wool
But then we stood up
now we’re buying and trying
cloning and groaning
driving and crying
go to work
circle jerk
rally and tally
for what we believe in
this better than that
you better than me
because of the wad of paper in your pocket
that was worthless in the time before now
Does it really matter
all this idle chatter
on stock market finance
the price of fame
glory and shame
where it was once enough
and a blessed thing
to only breathe
But how far we’ve come in our distinctions
that we no longer consider ourselves
as part of
the natural world
