HIEROGLYPHICS

These strange symbols I cannot decipher
They mean nothing to me, nothing to me
From a far-off civilization that cannot speak to me
Cannot speak to me

The richness of their lives does not communicate
Their artifacts and rituals are inanimate
Their myths and their narratives are transparantly opaque
They are no more than squiggles on the page

There are no absolutes, there are no certainties
No phoney supreme being is coming through to me
There are no truths, no fixed moralities
Hieroglyphics are all I see

I had a story to tell
I had something to say
'Write it down' my teacher said
'Add it up' said another
They wouldn't listen to a word I said
It was alive and they killed it dead

These hieroglyphics claim a false authority
These hieroglyphics impose a tyranny
These hieroglyphics create a monopoly
Hieroglyphics are all I see

DEEP GREEN

What colour do you choose, my love
From the rainbow in the sky?
Let me know where you stand, my love
Tell me where your heart lies

Will you grasp a strand of red
Stained with blood and death?
Or spin an orange thread
For a fine sunset?

What do you choose, my love
From all the colours in the sky?
Let me know how you feel, my love
Tell me what you decide

Will you pick a yellow ribbon
To tie in your hair?
Will you sew a patch of blue
For a knee threadbare?

What do you choose, my love
From all the colours in the sky?

What colour do you choose, my love
From the rainbow in the sky?
Let me know where you stand, my love
Tell me where your heart lies

Will you weave some indigo cloth
To cut a fine new dress?
Or a violet scarf
To tie around your neck?

I am waiting for your word, my love
As I gaze up at the sky
I've already made a choice, my love
I know where my heart lies

I will pluck a blade of the deepest green
I will cling to life
I will hold it tenderly
Cherish it like a wife

What colour do you choose, my love
From the rainbow in the sky?

PARACHUTE

This aeroplane is out of fuel
The instruments are flashing
The pilots, they don't have a clue
How to stop it crashing
The passengers are unaware
The in-flight movie is a distraction
We fall too fast, we'll land too hard
Unless we take some action

The air is cool at this altitude
It is a long way down
Strap on this parachute
And float slowly to the ground

This automobile is out of gas
The engine is complaining
Its battery and tyres are flat
Its systems are all failing
We are so very far from home
I fear we could be stranded
Unless we ditch this pile of chrome
We will be empty-handed

The air is cool at this altitude
It is a long way down
Strap on this parachute
And float slowly to the ground

We have the technologies
We have the tools
But our mythologies
Are blinding us to the truth

Oh, this machine is out of juice
Its screen is slowly fading
Remote control is of no use
Its circuitry is ailing
Does this decline create a space
For our own entertainment
A chance to relocate
Our lost imaginations?

The air is cool at this altitude
It is a long way down
Strap on this parachute
And float slowly to the ground