I No Longer Sing The Songs Of Societal Significance Poem by RIC BASTASA

i no longer sing your songs of societal significance
i have forgotten them

honestly, i do not remember a word
i cannot even hum the tune of your songs of protest
(our songs)
against the government, honestly, i do not like them anymore
even if i remember

all i remember are unnecessary, premature, untimely deaths
of friends
of our self-made revolutions when we were so young and full

of idealism
in our hearts
now i dim
like a dying light

tempted by the shining sun of new rules and
the philosophy of
mature contentment

i no longer climb your mountains, i no longer walk the long walks
on dark nights, passing the snake rivers
and gorilla forests and monkey trees and slippery fins of fish
and eels and
eagles,

i no longer have your callous feet
i cannot remember you

you ask me
if i love you still, i cannot remember, i have none of your bravery

honestly,
i have become this coward cloud, raining
regrets

the peace that i do not deserve
the hiding

in open places, without a name, without a trace,
mouth shut, tongue clipped,

and then you walk away