by Cliff Beck.
In the long hours of darkness
humanity huddles around flickering flames,
aching bones pressed against unyielding stones,
while shrieks and growls fill the night with fright.
Then the heavens reflect the firelight
as aurora borealis fills the sky
and mortals begin to understand why,
where from, and what’s to come after the final breath.
Dazed by the censers haze, bemused by the splendour,
confused by the bells and arcane spells
minds are ossified as a shared idea
becomes a panacea suffused with power, blood and steel
and crusaders take the cross against heretics of every hue.
Corporate steeples
tower over mesmerised people
dazzled by the celebrity razzle,
frazzled by the fulgent fripperies and folderols,
fazed by the maze of sound bites, deep fakes
and counterfactual remakes
of what was once called truth
as everything is quantified, digitised
and profit maximised.
Fragmented, bewildered and dispossessed;