If (Take That Rudyard Kipling - This is a Prayer)

If there is no happy ending for any of us,
If death coats the walls of the halls of life,
And if we cover the walls of life with fresh wallpaper,
Call it salvation or hope and call it new,
But then at the heart of existence is a black-hole miasma
Rotting away meaning and truth like wooden treasure chests at sea,
If we light every lantern and hold in our breaths
To rid ourselves of ghosts and devils that can't exist,
If the smokey hand of time will ravage our lungs,
With the liver to follow, bowels, then the heart,
If the beginning of the tunnel is pain in focus,
If the end of the tunnel is irrelivant,
If the lights we lit cannot save our treasures
And yesterdays are just nails in our casket
And todays are avalanches of nothing,
And tomorrows are indeed never assured,
If the earth could cross paths with a meteor
Or malfunctions cause nuclear wars,
If barbed wire lines the walls of the halls of life
Tearing the wallpaper, ripping salvation so that death looks through
And we can see it each day, undoctored, in focus,
If there's a chance that death-knowing could drive my life mad,
Then at least give me back the time I spend
Waiting for slow elevators in the morning!

06/09