Lyrics
Falling Edge
Social Engineering
…the stars are fading in the backlit sky entangled by the trees
water washes on the shoreline, over the horizon, thunder rumbles in the distance
while the endless maze stretches beyond the sea
and this empty monolithic open space collapses around itself
still something rustles in the leaves…
Drawing blanks and sketching stories
Leaden minds erasing lies and eyes
Pornographic priestess portrayed in print, not in pictures bears her soul
Take a stroll between the pages, walk the lines, report on what you find
Falling down but looking up, they seek answers
To things that can’t be known
Sewing seeds that shouldn’t be sewn
And somehow no one asks the question
Is there some way else to be?
They’re the sham that they can’t see
Take the path into the distance
Cross the void through the trees and leaves
As you walk along the trail escape the snare, cross the lines of time
The road is long, the way is hard
Stay on your course, stay on your guard
Schools of academic thought?
Perversions of things that once were known
Now only empty lies have grown
And I wish I had the answer
‘Cause there’s so much more to know
So many places still to go
…and in this empty monolithic open space synapses confound themselves
Not That Far Away
I’ve got seven miles to go
Through icy rain and snow
And I’m not that far away
Maybe I’ll be there today
I got no worries on my mind
And there’s not much left to find
If I could only get away
Maybe I’d be there to stay
You see I’m really not that far away
If I could just get there today
A song is running through my mind
Guess I got some time to stop…and look behind
Next Time Around
Instead of walking right out the door
Instead of abandoning his ship and leaving
Instead he chose to stay and cozy up with his gloom
From that point on he spiralled headlong into his doom
Same time a new place same empty night
Now on another street just a few blocks over
Somebody else is helpless and forgotten and lost
Perched like vultures demons pick away at her soul
Sometimes it seems as though there’s not much left to hope for
There’s no point, no sense in carrying on
When every chance you’ve ever had to escape is gone
Another title in the soundtrack to humankind’s suicide
Will we end up just like the other ones?
Is there some other way?
Lost, forgotten, gone, just like the other ones?
I cried to God I thought I heard Him say
Hold me closer, hold me closer
Things’ll be better baby next time around
In a darkened alley he sits
Wondering what has become of his broken life
Looking into his future he sees only bleak misery
And all that’s left of his past swirls among the debris
The tolling of the bell goes ignored
A string of bad events closed their minds long ago
So take a last look at what’s left of what was called life
Unheeded well-intentioned warnings led to more strife
So now you tell me that there’s nothing left to hope for
But at this point, what’s left but to carry on
Chances are chances come again we’ve got to move on
So grab a pen it’s time to rewrite what will be your history
We won’t end up just like the other ones I know there’s some other way
‘Cause none are forgotten, gone – there are no other ones
I know it’s true because I heard Him say
Hold me closer, hold me closer
Things’ll be better baby next time around
I, Awake
He woke up one morning, felt more empty than usual, could’ve been any other day
How can it be he doesn’t even realize he should hope things should change?
Wond’ring aloud – lost in the crowd
Why does he bother to get out of bed at all? It’s such a waste of precious time
Motionless he’s pushed along his life’s assembly line
Still there must be something he could do
He’s ushered to work, lost in the mass migration of the endless motion machine
Stumbling through life, he’s just a puppet, someone else’s hands on the controls
Lost in the crowd – awkward and loud
Everywhere he goes but no one notices he’s trapped inside of his shell
No one notices he doesn’t even know himself is it just as well?
He should have been dead a long time ago
Arriving at work he glances down at his watch, snatches a brief glimpse of memory
He’s ill-prepared for the uneasiness beginning to gnaw at his soul
Awkward and loud – helpless and proud
How can he rectify the images he’s just been shown and still get through his day?
Images that shock him in a most unusual way
He’s no clue’ve the mess he’s slipped into
He struggles at first keeps his emotions at bay but then gets raped by infinity
Suddenly thoughts of former hopes and dreams go surging through his fragile mind
Helpless not proud – lost in the clouds
He slowly comes to realize his life`s become what he vowed it`d never be
Should he change it if he can and if he does then what will become of me?
You should have been dead a long time ago
Tears of ecstacy are smeared all over his face as he reflects on what might have been
Is it too late if he recovers from this shock could he start once again?
Lost in the clouds – veiled in a shroud
Veiled in a shroud – life disavowed
I should have been dead a long time ago
All lyrics from Falling Edge – Falling Edge ©2012 Chris Rupert
Convergence at Fossil Falls
Minstrel in the Corner
And now I sit here, my random thoughts finally left alone
There’s nothing left, nothing left to find
So pack up and go home
Amid the din I’m just a minstrel in the corner
Not much to say; ask not for whom I play
Is this my last chance, my final word, am I heard at all?
Are there still notes I have yet to play
Or have I played them all?
Though I fear nothing there’s nagging proof in fading memory
That some things I’ve said still haunt me, haunt me
©2005 Chris Rupert
The Lost Journal
Alone I stand staring at the break of day
Lost in thought wondering what I might say
Try to shake off the night though I don`t understand still I hope and pray
I know I gotta leave but man I wish I could stay
When I sit down, beside myself I feel lost, cold, empty and tired
It’s sad to think I take comfort in being alone
Pass the time trying to think of good things I`ve had
And hope the end will make this all seem not so sad
I’ll weather what might come and try to tell myself that things ain`t that bad
How long have I been gone, and how long before I go mad
When I look back to better times I can’t find my face in the crowd
I`m never there, so I must concede I`ve been gone all along
Time`s in chains the time has come to set it free
The captain`s gone, so I guess it all comes down to me
I fight this battle alone in constant fear of what might be in store for me
When will this journey end and what will it turn out to be
Will its conclusion elude my grasp or will it somehow find me?
Another step – one step closer to my destiny
©2005 Chris Rupert
Sex for Sale
Darkness is falling, but nighttime’s not yet here for you my dear
Yet you emerge from your chamber embracing the dark
How do you know what’s real? What will you do when the spark from your eyes has disappeared?
Beware: your money’s no good here and the cost is too high
Wish you could see yourself the way you really are
You won’t ever have to do without
She’s got everything that you’ve been dreamin’ ’bout
The two of you could fall in love
She’s got sex for sale
The prospect is daunting; a harsh reality that you won’t see
There’s something she wants that she sells for something you don’t need
Without cataclysmic fear you’ve boarded a craft that you’re going to find is hard to steer
When you wake up from your nightmare it’s already too late
You’ve been manipulated by your inner fears
It’s something the two of you can do without
It really ain’t what you think you’ve been dreamin’ ’bout
Maybe you’ll even fall in love
She’s got sex for sale
Where will you go from here? What will you do when everything has disappeared?
©2010 Chris Rupert
Convergence at Fossil Falls
Dawn had broke an early morning in this camp of misery
I wish you`d wanted me to stay but that’s something you won’t see
Hope left our tiny village drowning in the cold
You know I won’t yield; you know I can’t think about it
Bound I face the firing squad from behind blindfolded eyes
Just light my cigarette kiss me goodbye
A bounty on my head I tried but couldn’t make my way back home
I couldn`t watch the tale unfold, had to make my way alone
Mired in your own pain you were the only one who hunted me
And though you won’t yield
I really think you should think about it
Gaze beyond the empty forest where the children used to play
Holed up here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowflakes fall
Snowhills here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowhills fall
All that I once had is yours I leave no will or testament
There’ll be no stay of execution – we both know you won’t relent
Silent in my solitude as I choke down my last meal
Could we just cut a deal?
Your only hope is to think about it
‘Cause now I’m holed up here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowhills fall
Snowflakes here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowflakes fall
Holed up here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowflakes fall
Snowflakes here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowflakes fall
Snowhills here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowhills fall
Snowhills here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowhills fall
Snowflakes here at Fossil Falls
One by one the snowflakes fall
Snowflakes here at Fossil Falls
Waiting for the axe to fall
©2013 Chris Rupert
The Sniper, the Piper, and Me
We’d planned a picture perfect picnic lunch but clouds were gathering up in the sky
Blissful, oblivious to falling leaves, we never thought to stop and think why
We’d knelt and spread a blanket out under the shade and safety of that oak tree
So many leaves sheltered us from reality evading intimacy
Amid the din of secret conversation I’d seen every word that you’d said
Lost in thought it seemed that everything I tried to say got stuck in my head
And although we were staring lovingly and deeply into each other’s eyes
You couldn’t fathom what was hiding there; what lay concealed behind this disguise
As the conversation spreads its wings and changes course to find other skies
It seems to me we should have sensed some hint at goodbye
I can still remember how we’d gathered there and sat under that old oak tree
Without a first or second thought of how we thought things might be
Though I can’t recall just how it happened there underneath that old oak tree
Inner voices hid from me an end I should have foreseen
Now was it something that I said, an odd remark or comment made out of turn?
Shaken, now hanging on my every word your face showed no small cause for concern
In that brief instant you had glimpsed the truth – a subtle shift and my cover was blown
3, 2, 1 it had all come undone and we were left sitting there alone
As the conversation spreads its wings and changes course to find other skies
It seems to me we should have sensed some hint at goodbye
And how or why we didn’t at the time up to this moment I’ve never known
Perhaps that’s why we never understood why you’d gone
I can still remember how you left me there, standing by the old oak tree
I remember laughing but the laughter wasn’t coming from me
I can still remember how you left me there, standing by the old oak tree
When you put it together you dropped our numbers back down to 3
There used to be so many voices in my head to help keep me company
But in the end the only ones remaining are the sniper, the piper, and me
©2013 Chris Rupert
FE3
Where Should We Go From Here?
Where should we go from here?
Should we escape? The sky is falling
Should we just disappear?
I think I hear the future calling
What should we do this year?
We could escape the sky is falling
We could just disappear
With no regrets, no wait, no stalling
©2014 Chris Rupert
Experience/Innocence
Turn my gaze out to the mountains and across vermilion skies
As unfamiliar creatures pass me by
Overwhelmed by awe and wonder at the first time my eyes seeing,
Heightened senses now perceiving
Chorus:
(Experience of) (my innocence)
In a sense all my understanding has been revealed by experience
(Experience) (innocence)
Innocence of the implications is absent in my experience
Sound of waves crashing in the ocean in their perpetual motion
Depth of nature’s power engulfing me
Salty sweetness of the water quenching my mind ever after
Chorus
As my time here slips away I can’t shake this nagging feeling
that I cannot return to this place
It pains me more than I can say
And despite my best efforts to circumvent the end or linger
It’s still time to go
Buried deep within my consciousness
Of it I’m unaware but nonetheless these transformations
Make me who I am
And I can no more separate the process from myself
Than I can undo all the things that set it into motion,
Into motion
Strange notion
But the inadequate breadth of human understanding
Cannot grasp the impact of this enigmatic mystery
For the moment we begin to understand the nature of the one
The other exercises dominance yet unforeseen
You cannot establish control
The effort will exact its toll
And still the process will regain control
It’s all too easy to acquiesce to errant thought
And fear we’ve simply got too much to lose
But all too often the things we need to grow,
Those things we need to grow
We so seldom choose
Chorus
©2014 Chris Rupert
I Will Not Comply
Helpless and hopeless, I struggle in vain
The enemy taunts me once again
Succumb to temptation, in my degradation
Things once held sacred now profane
The spirit is willing, the flesh though, so weak
Any sense of control lost in the end
And though my past haunts me, my destiny calls me
Save me before I fall again
An overwhelming emptiness engulfs my soul
My very consciousness becomes my enemy
It seems no matter how I try my dark side just won’t be denied
I’m trapped on the ice I keep falling through
Surrounded by vile evil legions ensnared here by the enemy
I pray for my deliverance will my prayer go unanswered?
How long must I remain held as a prisoner here
Mired in depravity and gross inequity?
Of all good I’ve been undiscerning
And I feel the pain of endless yearning
Do what I can to save what’s left of me
Time seems to have stopped as I edge ever closer to the void
Staring at damnation my soul screams in desperation
The father of all lies has me in his sights
I will not comply, struggle to defy
The source of my weakness: my perceived independence
Has blinded me to reality
I left myself open to all that could be
I felt a change come over me
Accepting His presence forsaking my will
I realize now I’m truly free
Strengthened by promise, suspended by hope
I rise to confront my enemy
I race against tomorrow to complete my goal
Though I will surely die there is no other way
Cognizant as I journey on this path I’ve set my self upon
May be where I spend my last tortured days
Arising from the ashes of my former self I’ve been set free
I’m now who I was meant to be my eyes fixed on eternity
Though my heart beat its last I’ll not concede defeat
I’d gladly rather die than serve the likes of you
Though I sense my end drawing near
I’ve strangely lost all sense of fear
Enrapt in what I know now I must do
Untethered by self-preservation,
Undaunted by impending doom
A slave to my will no more I embrace my final conflict
You have been denied
I will not comply
Look into my eyes
No longer defiled
©2016 Chris Rupert
Gone
You fancy yourself a hero, keeping infidels at bay
Rising from the ashes of Nero in a more covert sort of way
With a healthy fear of strangers, unhindered by the truth
The onus is on you
Your ends never fail to justify your means
Though they shape the lens that you look through
Your perception of events you’ve never seen
Explains why you do the things you do
Embark upon your mission to nowhere
To an unnamed danger zone
The enemy is surely out there somewhere
Maybe not so far from home
Rest assured we’re not alone
In vain you search for honour, as honour won’t find you,
As troubles often do
It’s unfortunate but true
Pent-up paranoia corrupts the minds of fools
And the seed it sows grows into you
Led by the great deceiver you seek out unbelievers
Confident you’ll find someone to carry you home
You found a phony leader, struck down some non-believers
Then stumbled through the night so they could carry you home
Carry you home
It’s hard to see reality clearly – so much confusion left to undo
You really shouldn’t take yourself so seriously –
Just forget what you thought you knew
The rest is up to you
You surrendered to delusion and now they have you too
The prophecy has come true as prophecies so often do
And your path is fraught with danger
Though I’ve tried I fail to see the world through your eyes
Where truth turns into lies, and fear wears its thin disguise
Yes your path is fraught with danger
Led by the great deceiver you sought out unbelievers
Then stumbled through the night
So they could carry you home
Posed as a phony leader, then smote some non-believers
Then stumbled back to camp so they could carry you home
Carry you home
Led by the great deceiver you seek out unbelievers
Confident you’ll find someone to carry you home
Impersonate a phony leader, then smite some non-believers
Then fumble through the night so they can carry you home
Carry you home
©2016 Chris Rupert
What Will You Do When You Find Me?
I wish we ruled the world just like we did when we were 17
We had a good run for a while but now it’s over
Every now and then I catch a glimpse of what the future holds
It reminds me of the things we did back then
As we move through our lives we move through changes
It’s funny though, the thing that’s stayed the same
is the mess that you’re in
I know it’s hard to understand why I left there so long ago
How things once held so close began diverging
All those things you used to know but never really understood
Were keys unlocking secrets trapped inside your mind
Now I’ve become the object of your seeking
You’ll search your whole life what will you do
When you finally find me?
Locked in futile old ways
You hold the key just unlock the door
Set aside the old days
Discover what you’re living for
You thought you’d never see me, thought I’d gone so far away
Thought you’d moved on and left me far behind you
Your narrow mind could never see the fact was in all honesty
I was the one who took the helm not you
You ask questions but don’t listen for the answers
You work so hard to keep your mind closed
How can you possibly find me?
Trapped inside your old ways
You hold the key just unlock the door
Take leave of the old days
Discover what you’re fighting for
Locked in futile old ways
You hold the key just unlock your door
Set aside the old days
Discover what you’re dying for
Set aside the old days
Please take my key and unlock your door
Take leave of your old ways
Is this life you love worth dying for?
©2016 Chris Rupert
Moments of Truth
I’ve been confined to this cell for so long
I wonder if there really ever was a time
When my time was really mine
And I don’t know how or why
I just let my life pass before my eyes
Now I can’t stop wondering how I got to where I am now
Your mind is playing tricks on you
In time it transforms what you thought you knew
Don’t let your demons grow inside you till they’ve Swallowed your soul
Don’t think I’ll ever find my way home
Sometimes I lie awake in the night
Wondering what was meant for me
If there were any other way
I wouldn’t have let my freedom just slip away
And I’d give all I own to get it back for one single day
It’s time to distance yourself from your past
Resign from all the self doubt you’ve amassed
Soon all your ponderings and wonderings
Will have taken their toll
Left to our own devices worry will establish control
There’ve been times in my life when quiet moments of truth
Have brought me peace in hope and joy
Though desperation and strife and dissolution of youth
Had left my sense of self destroyed
It isn’t like I haven’t given everything that I am
There may be no way back once you’ve gone…
Align yourself with things you know are true
There’s no salvation in the hell you keep putting yourself through
There’ve been times in my life when quiet moments of truth
Have brought me peace in hope and joy
Though desperation and strife and separation from youth
Had left my sense of self destroyed
If I were anybody else I might have made out just fine
I’d rather not know how close I came to the end of the line
©2016 Chris Rupert
Where Should We Go From Here? (reprise)
We should just go my dear
Let’s go before the past comes calling
While we just stagnate here
I think I hear the future calling
©2014 Chris Rupert
Final Dissent (Into Madness?)
Arcane Knowledge
Imposed ideology shiny and glittering
Effortlessly navigating inquiry
Evading questions under scrutiny
Demagogues spewing misinformation
Deception expunging the wisdom of the centuries
Of late I’ve suffered feelings of uneasiness
Regarding our current state of affairs
Fervour has rendered logic meaningless
Entitlement negating compassion
First World forcing on all humanity its greediness
I’ve arcane knowledge of what happens when we go to war
Beyond mere history you may have read
Cull revelation from a page of long-forgotten lore
Stop living lies that you’ve been fed
Now more than any other time in history
I’m haunted by images in my head
Consequences of reason’s mutiny
Liberty auctioned to highest bidder
The wealth of nations taxed by legislated misery
Long ago and far away
There might be a place that’s safe for us to stay
Peace might not survive to fight another day
I’ve arcane knowledge of what happens when we go to war
Beyond the history you’ve been read
Cull revelation from the pages of forgotten lore
Shit out the lies that you’ve been fed
Recoil in horror knowing what the future has in store
Foreboding fills my soul with dread
Nations compelled to up the ante and even up the score
Filling their coffers with their dead
I’ve arcane knowledge of where we go when we wage our wars
Places mere mortals fear to tread
Must we keep making the same mistakes that we’ve made before
Can’t we do something else instead?
©2020 Chris Rupert
Just One More Wish
If I had more time I might continue this journey
Walking, stumbling, crawling as I fall through this wasteland of desire
You can’t just wish for just one more wish in this plastic corridor
It will only ever leave you wanting more
Never satisfied, a victim of desperate longing
Sowing expectations that the field could not hope to provide
Trapped on the path of least resistance to the emptiness of yore
Leaving to rot the bounty grown before
You can’t just wish for just one more wish in this bankrupt candy store
It will only ever leave you wanting more
©2020 Chris Rupert
Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea
Hard soled shoes clattering on cobblestone streets, avoiding chimney sweeps
Icicles drooping from unkept eaves
Trapped in the prison of the fire escapes and steaming sewer grates
And still the cold rain keeps pouring down, concerned with neither hair nor wedding gown
In characteristically well-heeled fashion another climber falls to his death
From a height he could never hope to achieve
Unwittingly at the time he believed the contrary to be true
But then he hadn’t counted on meeting you
Orchestrated on a subway train to sterilize the pain
Invisible tears dripping from undressed wounds
With uncharacteristically unbridled passion, concealing carefully cloaked contrived plans
To become the one you’d hoped to deceive
Unkowingly at the time you believed that was all you could ever be
But then you’d never counted on meeting me
The thrill of it all, empires rise and fall
Ignoring our trivial little schemes
Oblivious to butterflies flapping their wings
Do ya do ya feel relief or a slight trepidation
At this sudden intrusion into your dysfunctional world?
Forgive this exposition of reality
The chance to see things as they should be seen
Is not everyone’s cup of tea
Would you prefer a return to your fantasy?
Are you not seeing the things that you hoped you’d see
Or is it just me?
Attention focused not on vision’ries, nurturing violent streaks
Inspiration hidden in empty rooms
Lost in the labyrinth of double speak and concrete ink
A reign of confusion teeming down, taking no notice of the deserted playground
With unequivocally nefarious logic a troubling plan presents itself to you
Falling from heights of what you could have achieved
Who would have thought what you thought you believed and the conclusions that led you to
Could become the very thing that dismantled you
Empires rise and fall and still after all
People keep scheming impossible schemes
Unconvinced that things aren’t quite what they seem
Have you become desensitized to your own lamentations?
Were they the portal you might get pulled through from the depths you’ve sunk to?
Forgive this invasion of your reality
It can be hard to see things as they might have been
And things once seen can’t be unseen
Is this a case of mistaken identity?
I think that things should be seen as they ought to be,
But everything’s not up to me
Forgive this exposition of reality
The chance to see things as they should be seen
Is not everyone’s cup of tea
Would your prefer a return to your fantasy?
Are you not seeing the things that you hoped you’d see
Or is it just me?
Should that same subway train with renewed disdain find you on it again
Would you consider altering your point of view?
Or will life be measured in all-consuming hate that you yourself create
And still the cold rain streams down like fear till one day without warning everything just disappears
©2020 Chris Rupert
Whatever Happened to Christmas?
At the very first Christmas
Shepherds heard glad tidings of great joy
Left all they had in the distance
Found a star in a poor baby boy
They tried to sell me their Christmas
Starting one day after Hallowe’en
But the thing that they missed was
They couldn’t sell me what cannot be seen
Whatever happened to Christmas?
Whatever happened to joy and good cheer?
Whatever happened to Christmas?
Is it still the most wonderful time of the year?
Somebody handed me Christmas
Pleasant tripe on some holiday card
I see you’re ready for Christmas
Plastic Santa Claus out in the yard
Whatever happened to Christmas?
Whatever happened to peace and goodwill?
Whatever happened to Christmas?
Did they grow impatient lined up at the till?
Whatever happened to Christmas?
Did it go half price at some boxing day sale?
Whatever happened to Christmas?
Is it all just presents and cards in the mail?
Did hearts used to be big ones?
Are they now all just small ones?
If hearts used to be big ones
When did they all shrink to small ones?
Whatever happened to Christmas?
Did it get swallowed in some corporate merger?
Whatever happened to Christmas?
Was part of the deal gold, frankincense and myrrh?
It’s time to wake up it’s Christmas
And the time of salvation draws near
If you really love Christmas
Try to keep it each day of the year
©2012 Chris Rupert
Final Dissent (Into Madness?)
Just as the present becomes past so the future will pass into antiquity
Will this all make sense 10 000 years hence after lengthy inquiry?
Welcome to your final dissent made without your consent – a one way trip to fantasy
And now that logic and reason have been charged with treason do you trust your sanity?
Or is this not your cup of tea?
Sorry but our time together’s drawing to a close
We spin around and ’round but where we land nobody knows
Don’t be sad it’s not too much for you to bear
‘Cause in the end it’s obvious nobody really cares
Just keep your chin up, steel your nerve and don your armour because
If this all goes well we may yet escape hell and secure our place in history
Welcome travellers, please step inside
Enjoy the journey, you’re in for a ride
A once in a lifetime chance is all I have to offer you
To play a game no one’s ever played
The greatest invitation ever made
Extended to you who’ve passed up a thousand chances on the way
And if the operation goes as planned
When this is all over you’ll understand
The Innocent Victim seeks and now is closing in on you
The conversation that we never had
Your brilliant deception back in Leningrad
The spy that defected chasing shadows in the rain
Still, nothing can harm me until
I have to rise to confront a new day
Consciousness securely locked away
Somehow it all seems painfully obvious now
This could be my last chance to move on
And banish demons I’ve happened upon
‘Cause the life that I once had is gone
How did I suddenly arrive here, surrounded, engulfed by doubt and fear?
A haze of mixed emotion dissolves me as I fall through this gloom
An open empty tomb
Infinity
Maybe all that I see
Was never meant for me – maybe something else is lurking in the darkness waiting to make off with the key
What horrors awaken in this place, here where we meet madness face to face?
St. Dymphna pray for us
Our darkest fears have come true
There’s no returning for us
To anything we thought we knew
Won’t anyone pray for us
Is anything getting through?
The end makes its appearance and draws ever near
Somehow something has escaped through some small opening
Somehow something somewhere’s broken free
Something’s surfaced that somehow for centuries remained unseen
Reality has fallen through a hole in time
Tried, convicted and awaiting sentencing for future crimes
Is all this just the imag’nings of my mind
Beware for what you seek you just might find
Listless on this path I wander
A wayward ship upon the sea
Through it all I can’t stop wondering
What yet lies in store for me
Free me from this spell I’m under
Release me from this mystery
From its enchantment set me free
Evading police at security checkpoints
Frustrating the efforts made by border guards
Slip into the forest and escape in waiting getaway car
Watching all this drama unfolding in my mind’s eye
Oblivious to the shocked looks on the faces of passersby
Questioning their validity and all that that could imply
Devising a plan for the safe return of these passengers in time
Fragments of your mind’s creation lay scattered in the
Realm of time’s unforgiving truth that’s become the history of man
Wise men speaking wise words in tongues none could understand
Infiltration of rebel soldiers from hostile foreign lands
Deliberations are underway for a viable extraction plan
Agents of ill defined affiliation are seeking safe passage into
Clandestine meetings secretly arranged by secret societies
Enemy leaders from enemy nations found secretly cohabitating
Intelligence has gone underground and weaponized the insurgency
But nothing that lies in secrecy can keep itself from being revealed
I’m afraid the time we have together’s nearly gone
And truly wish I wasn’t all you placed your hope upon
If you ever find one you can just walk out the door
Just know things never will return to what they were before
So this is how it ends – this close to being apprehended and the plan is simply to abandon me?
All the things I’ve been conceding I find ever more misleading
Isn’t someone somewhere missing me?
To know what was, is, and what might have been
To see things that nobody else has ever seen
To witness things not even conceived of before
Before you do though you’ll be transferred to another floor
I never asked to be a witness to these revelations or be party to your generosity
Through this barren wasteland am I doomed to roam, a wanderer without a home, without a history?
I have it on reliable authority
Concluding our affairs has taken on new urgency
Sadly you have no idea what you have in store
After fighting in the trenches of this mental war
Doo do do do do…
I’ll never escape the presence of these spectral apparitions
Phantoms haunt me to my bitter end
The cost has been so dear with every fear uncovered here tangled in this animation I suspend
The joy of my childhood lost somewhere in time
Alone in the darkest recesses of my mind
Long gone are those days of innocence of my youth
Who dares to solemnly swear to tell the whole truth?
In an unexpected twist the court has been adjourned
And the verdict of the jury declared overturned
No explanation for this irregularity
Perhaps it’s just a case of mistaken identity
Doo do do do do…
Psychology Professor:
“OK, now we come to this concept of truth, and truth (as I’m sure many of you may recognize) is a bit of a dicey proposition, especially in a world as technologically advanced as ours, because not only are what we believe to be true and what is actually true often two very different things, the line between what we know to be the truth and what we only believe to be the truth has become increasingly blurred. And this becomes even more problematic when you recognize that some people will benefit from convincing others that a lie is actually the truth. This has potentially devastating implications, and here’s one example: A couple of years ago I watched a documentary on a book written by a former, let’s call him an “intelligence operative”. He described how they would go into a foreign country that they had some interest in, for whatever reason, and hire people in the streets to act in what would become “news footage”. He said it was a simple thing to get enough people to act like, say, they were rioting in the streets, to make a convincing “news segment” that would show that there was a great deal of civil unrest in that country. Now, we don’t know whether this type of stuff actually goes on – I think a lot of us suspect that it does – but, that’s exactly the point: How would we know? Now it seems to me in a climate like this it would be very easy to manipulate large numbers of people into believing things that have no basis in any actual reality…”
…and with that our time together now comes to a close
You’ve sacrificed so much it’s such a shame no one will ever know
I know you’re sad I know you wish someone would care
But how much more time will you waste chasing things that might not really be there?
Why don’t you let your guard down, calm your nerves, sit back and tell us
Do you think things went well? Do you think you’ll escape Hell? Did you mark your place in history?
And at the very least did you manage to free yourself from your captivity?
©2021 Chris Rupert