THE LAND THAT TIME NEGLECTED

how old are ya, man?
i wonder if you know
doing something you did
30 years ago
camouflaged among
your old friends who do it
as though youth were a licence
and yearly you renew it

all your mistakes
will be self-corrected
in the land that time neglected

hitting on a girl
as would the boy you were
you have no idea
of how old you seem to her
to impress her drop the
names of this and that star
but she's too young to care
or remember who they are

you still feel
naturally-selected
in the land that time neglected

the conversations go
same way as ever
the games predictable
but you feel clever
the lines are set in stone
for roles fixed the same
whoever dares to deviate
will ruin the whole game

the script's just now
more slowly-inflected
in the land that time neglected

prolong the glory days
as long as life will last
and your culture's based on
living in the past
this science is complex
but let me be succinct
your people and your way of life
by now should be extinct

god must keep
your species well-protected
in the land that time neglected

(how old are ya, man?)

© 2013 Steve Fitch