Auguries of innocence lost

Where are we heading?

What will come?

For long it was not done,

but now, as the sky is leaden, it’s gone.

People have spoken a sentence of exclusion

and of inclusion, repentance,

no token.

People fight.

And while they fight, they unite.

And while they unite, they divide.

And while they divide, they -

They fight.

As the pressure’s increasing,

the sky is releasing its bubbling conundrum.

Molecules spinning with pulsing momentum.

Yes, the siren we hear is drawing us near,

and yet, we blindly infuse the atmosphere

with ancient flames: then, still now, still here.

At the crossroads the caravan stalls.

The refugees know their direction,

but rather imagine pitfalls and walls

than fathom uncharted introspection.

The outspoken people - where will they go?

The lemmings – when will they leave the row?

The dreamers – what do they know?

You may want to silence the singer, the stranger

crossing your range, your age and your land,

but out of the wildflower, the grain of sand,

the dawning time you hold in your hand,

his song ascends – and it's always the same:

Tame the flames clear the skies.

Tame the flames clear the skies.

With your eyes bare clear the air.

Clear the air with your eyes bare.

For everyman and everywhere.


By Herman Russchenberg (June 2024)