identity
we all have it
i am me and you are it
what it is that i know is for you to find out
if i work really hard and get good at it it'll earn me a living
but if everyone knew what everyone else knows
there'd be nothing to sell
and nothing to buy
nothing to share
and nothing to hide
nothing to tell
and nothing to write
nothing to fear
and nothing to hate
nothing to look forward to
and nothing to be proud of

but if i manage to keep that ace up my sleeve
that influences time or even technology
that makes the unbendable sceptics believe
that notable pattern in astrology

what i see is mine because i saw it first
and i saw it explode with a perfunctory burst
it might make no sense whatsoever
but that isn't going to last forever

because if you knew what i knew i wouldn't be me
or have we forgotten what it means to be free
or have we given in to our own charity
or would we oblige to that old blasphemy
that says even sinners deserve sanctuary
or is altruism a strange alchemy
or a studious drive to epistemology
or a political divide over ideology
that critically questions theology

we need to keep secrets because that's who we are
but we also need to be fair