As It Once Was, It Cannot Be Poem by Raymond Farrell

As it once was it cannot be
No use standing athwart the tide of history
Hoping to reverse its course.

Better, far better, to take the lead
If change is what we need
Skillfully guide, not resist.

But if all seems lost, which may be the case
Best then, to look for another place
No point striving in vain.

Do not cast your pearls before swine
Do not fertilize some parasitic vine
Destroying those to which it clings.

The system has cast standards and morality aside
They have chosen, now you must decide
To participate or move on.

Participate can only mean certain compromise
If not outright acceptance of their lies
Do you have the stomach for it?

Better says I, as my forefathers before me
To move elsewhere, where I can be
Free from outright duplicity.