“Did You Ask?”

  

c. 2026 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(3-26)

 

 

Did you ever witness an opinion rush

A crowd massing in a human crush

And think it was the herd mentality in effect

While guessing that a game of chance

Would be valid for squares in a dance

Each one under the spell of a magic check

Minds linked in a loyalty code

To the empire in its death throes

Lashing out at lazy losers that lope

If you were the one that bravely asked

About this march of time to task

Your independence, it gives me hope

It gives me hope

 

Did you ever warn the brutish brood

About a wayward, wilding mood

Some predisposed rip toward throwing stones

And think an assault on foes or friends

Would have consequences, in the end

A better choice to, just leave it alone

Strangers may tempt as a target point

With a bullseye battle to anoint

It’s easy to get caught up in that naïve net

But when the spool is unspun for good

And there’s a sound of silence in this neighborhood

You’ll see things not to forget

Not to forget

 

Did you ever feel the peer preserve

A push to accept what the mass prefers

And quietly question what will transpire

That sense of dread is a human goal

Evidence of a healthy soul

A spark of life in the telephone wire

The call to arms goes out with pride

Resistance to this role, denied

A cause both holy and a duty, indeed

But the stench of shame will follow close

For anyone who knotted up the ropes

Or allowed this mental madness to proceed

Madness to proceed

 

Did you ever wonder, like a child

About the shift from bold to mild

When confronting soldiers intending to protect

And think that a snake-oil salesman’s trick

A puncture made like a silver pin-prick

Might cause a wound to worsen with neglect

A clear path chosen to follow, blind

With heart and head, ably inclined

Looking down at the dirt upon which we stand

A high-kick of ceremonial grace

For a naked emperor, with a citrus face

A rod of correction held tightly in his hand

Tightly in his hand

 

Did you ever want to wish for peace

A happening where the world may feast

A banquet table set from shore to shore

A better choice than spilling blood

And contests with rocky, clods of mud

Once set in motion, it spans forevermore

That dream to dare may seem a ruse

Not something to find without excuse

Yet for the takers, it remains possible and pure

A wish more golden than coins or crowns

A life companion to keep around

A certainty set in wisdom, and assured

And assured