Poetry: Read More/Blog More – A Monthly Event! -Month 5

One of my favourite ways to experience poetry is through music. And, I am the sort that actually pays attention to what they are. There are some songs that are insanely popular and I just don't get how when you listen to the terrible things that the lyrics say. When I met the guy we went on a road trip and he was playing this band called Rush. I had heard of them, but never really paid a lot of attention to them before. Initially, I wasn't very impressed. But, we had my car and he left their CD in there. I am terrible about changing what I am listening to, so I wound up driving around listening to Rush and they slowly grew on me. Neil Peart, the drummer, has written many of the lyrics and he is also an author. I enjoy both and thought I would share some of the lyrics to my favourite Rush songs for my Poetry post this month.

"The Trees"

There is unrest in the forest

There is trouble with the trees

For the maples want more sunlight

And the oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples

(And they're quite convinced they're right)

They say the oaks are just too lofty

And they grab up all the light

But the oaks can't help their feelings

If they like the way they're made

And they wonder why the maples

Can't be happy in their shade

There is trouble in the forest

And the creatures all have fled

As the maples scream 'Oppression!'

And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union

And demanded equal rights

'The oaks are just too greedy

We will make them give us light'

Now there's no more oak oppression

For they passed a noble law

And the trees are all kept equal

By hatchet, axe and saw

"Freewill"

There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance

A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance

A planet of play things

We dance on the strings

Of powers we cannot perceive

'The stars aren't aligned

Or the gods are malign...'

Blame is better to give than receive

[Chorus:]

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice

You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill

I will choose a path that's clear

I will choose freewill

There are those who think

That they were dealt a losing hand

The cards were stacked against them

They weren't born in Lotusland

All preordained

A prisoner in chains

A victim of venomous fate

Kicked in the face

You can't pray for a place

In heaven's unearthly estate

[Chorus]

Each of us

A cell of awareness

Imperfect and incomplete

Genetic blends

With uncertain ends

On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet

[Chorus]

"Red Sector A"

All that we can do is just survive

All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive

Ragged lines of ragged grey

Skeletons, they shuffle away

Shouting guards and smoking guns

Will cut down the unlucky ones

I clutch the wire fence until my fingers bleed

A wound that will not heal

A heart that cannot feel

Hoping that the horror will recede

Hoping that tomorrow we'll all be freed

Sickness to insanity

Prayer to profanity

Days and weeks and months go by

Don't feel the hunger

Too weak to cry

I hear the sound of gunfire at the prison gate

Are the liberators here?

Do I hope or do I fear?

For my father and my brother, it's too late

But I must help my mother stand up straight

Are we the last ones left alive?

Are we the only human beings to survive?

"Limelight"

Living on a lighted stage

Approaches the unreal

For those who think and feel

In touch with some reality

Beyond the gilded cage

Cast in this unlikely role

Ill-equipped to act

With insufficient tact

One must put up barriers

To keep oneself intact

[Chorus:]

Living in the limelight

The universal dream

For those who wish to seem

Those who wish to be

Must put aside the alienation

Get on with the fascination

The real relation

The underlying theme

Living in a fish eye lens

Caught in the camera eye

I have no heart to lie

I can't pretend a stranger

Is a long-awaited friend

All the world's indeed a stage

And we are merely players

Performers and portrayers

Each another's audience

Outside the gilded cage

[Chorus]

These are just some of my favourites. What are some of your favourite lyrics? Mr. Linky is up on Regular Ruminations. I hope people are joining in!