I used to gaze with wonder at the stars
with a fleeting hope that they gazed back.
Perhaps I was the topic of their dinner-table talk!

But now I gaze with wonder at myself
I certainly am not who I once was--
shocked, astonished at how quickly

I became someone else, or rather
how I became everyone else.
I used to gaze with wonder at the stars.

Pity the stars have long since burnt out.

Born with a forked tongue, we sharpen it like a knife
And tell ourselves we're the highest form of life.
A bunch of apes feeding each other a bunch of grapes.

We wear different faces on a daily basis:
Actors in need of a healthy catharsis
Creating new ways to deceive
While still seeking something to believe.

It started as an act, but it soon became fact.
Wind up men ran by gears only know how to run
From their fears. Their consciences must weigh a ton.

I know mine does.