Upgrade

A poem from 2017

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So many promises made but not delivered

Not delivered, yet not broken

This is no tale of faithlessness or caprice

Or laughing Grey Beard

No wizardy wizz hiding behind a curtain

Puffed up in dreamy yellow brick streets of paint

We walked by certain faith and not by eagle sight

The flushed out crimson blood of martyrs cried

As bolshy brother slaughters beautiful brother

We did bonkers daft things and were proven right

Against the scoffy scoffers who belly laughed hilariously with all their dreadful might

We left all our everything behind

Our offspring sprung up and multiplied

And we died not simply hanging around waiting

We sacrificed our only beloved rescued son

We were not terrified of rascal wicked plagued men

We painted lambsies blood upon our woodeny doors

We blew silvery trumpets and saw thick fortressed walls tumble and fall

We conquered mighty kingdoms

We were honourably just

We were bold, heroes of old

We were brutally slaughtered, ill treated, but we didn’t back down

Our heads were caved in by raggedy jaggedy rocks

We were slowly sawn in two for real, no dark illusioned art pretend

We came back from the night of the dead

We had nowhere to lay our noble heads

But we didn’t care

We were seeking an eternal city

An upgrade

Then it fell apart

We gave up waiting

Holy feet treading the earth became metaphor enough for us

We stopped expecting a second time Saviour from above

We ceased believing in a heavenly home

This world became our only own

We ditched the promises

We started building Jerusalem here

Because here was all we had

And we told ourselves we were all alone

And buried our heads in the mud

We rolled up our sleeves

We got our hands dirty

And our hearts became heavy

And our eyes filled with tears

And we paved the streets in stolen dollar bills

And we set up petitions

And we went to war

And we hated ourselves

But we hated the other more

And we became older

And we officially lost our minds

And we threw in the towel

And we tore down the crosses

And we shouted in the streets

And we disagreed with everyone

And we lay on the floor

And we stopped eating

And we smiled a wry smile thinking all the time oh,

We are so nice!

And great clouds of witnesses lifted up their nail-pierced hands in horror