The Rip Post                                                                                              


So it went
I've been living
on another planet
for too many years.
I've forgotten caution
and I've forgotten fears.

The stranger who was me
is a stranger again,
weeping through the jeers.

Outcasts may just outlast
the in-crowd, I've seen 'em
come and I've seen 'em go,
loyalty is no reward, they
expect you to fall on your sword.

Telling the truth is the only power
but you'd be ready to tolerate
your own abuse because
when the tally is made,
you ain't in the shade.

Time to change the look,
say nothing to no one,
blend in and you stand out,
standing in for stars,
ever dreaming, ever vigilant
for blackholes and handouts.

Raga, reggae, pestiferous
melodramas, dharmas,
hare rama, Tony Dow and
Dalai Lama as the Beav,

Oh what a cruel warp we weave.
Looming, zooming, casting,
web of illusion, doing the
tap dance of truth on the
boulevard of unborn dreams,
how you like that cha-cha,
time to come clean.

So it goes, and so it went.
             ---Jack Oakes

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