The old words mean nothing
under the new sun.
The promises made
don’t ring the same
as they did when first spoken.
The only thing
that’s clear
is the sky
and the biting cold,
and the look of fear
in your eye.
Yeah, I know it.
It’s long past time
to admit
faults and failures.
We’re too far in it, now.
Four months of winter
in a six month land
that barely knows of summer,
but we know how to suffer,
God made sure of that.
Put it all away.
Yesterdays words,
childish games,
and all those things.
The only thing
that’s ever stayed honest
in this land,
is the horizon line to the West.
Those old mountains
standing guard.
The rest has been a mess.
Some of it’s worth fighting for,
but we don’t always
make the best call.
We judge things
on those old sayings,
trying to make
yesterday’s words
fit into today’s conundrums.
They never do it justice.
Instead,
we find ourselves
obsessed
with trying to understand
things in this world
that just don’t matter.
Temporary things
that don’t fit
our old way of thinking,
because we’re still using
old songs,
old thoughts,
and yesterday’s words
to describe
a new world.
HG – 2022
