A Response...

An Offer  (in response to An Invocation)

By Kerrie A. Colantonio (c) March 25, 2003



Come to us, away oh child,

no need for light, for window pane,

no need for dreams of mountain nights,

of desert trips and childhood days.

Step o'er cracks, pipes, holes, and wires,

bend 'neath ladders, scaffolds, signs,

cross at risk of injury,

your life is ours, plus overtime.

Rules to follow, rules to break,

life's not fair, you soon will learn,

sit down, back straight, face front, my dear,

no break for you, for what you yearn.

For truth, imagination, none,

creativity does not exist

not here, not there, nowhere, no more,

and if you try, you must desist

cease all thought, listen to me,

I am your lord above all else

no room for originality,

do what I say, not for yourself.

You can't refuse, you can't turn back,

forget where you were coming from,

do not look forward, don't wander off.

You're here now, this is your home.

You came to us, for what you sought,

Seek no more, for you have found

no light, no dreams, on mountain heights,

nor neither lie beneath the ground.

Beneath your sheets you fret and toss,

you can't escape the fate you seek

once it's found it's never lost

you can't pretend that you were meek.

You knew its shape, you knew its form,

you welcomed it with open arms.

None can fight it, none escape

Its sticky sugar-coated charms

the trap is set, the bait laid on,

try to resist with all your might,

we give you the key to all your dreams,

and only ask for days and nights.

No trips to childhood, please sign here,

or mountain lights to guide your way,

No more gazing through desert panes,

no more need for window days.