If I fight to keep my soul,
and the ashes of war keep smoldering
under a pile of fallen friends and foes,
of dreams forsaken and lives abandoned,
of a kneeling generation
fooled into submission
by throwing unending candy onto the floor—
petty prizes to be bought
dreams refurbished and resold
cheating them away from a priceless view
of holding heads up high and see
the world is all around and not beneath their feet—
not every buyable dope’s a treat;
like an old dog’s tail,
what good would it be to stand
when all the body juice goes bland
and the eyes go blind—
can’t catch the smell of a friend no more.
If I fight to keep my soul,
fight with me
or just get over me.

If I fight to keep my soul,
when the world drowns in smithereens
of our own making—
commodities like a giant black hole
we thought we could swallow;
no reach no aim for tomorrow
just the instant joy of buying
a dream after a dream and slaying
the dream that can only be built—
the false ecstasy of bought love
dries too soon for there is no love,
and all the people say to me
I have to stop the madness
blend in and mix
and lose my color to the masses—
like a giant lollipop so bright and colorful
yet nothing’s real and not artificial;
forgive my recoiling from a world so steep
I may fall at any moment
the abyss is too deep
the temptation’s a mountain
turned all the way upside down—
forgive my being on guard at all times;
too much is at stake, I can’t lose all.
If I fight to keep my soul,
please fight with me
or just get over me.