Consciousness, Literature and the Arts
Archive
Volume 13 Number 1, April 2012
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A FRIEND FROM WAY BACK WHEN
running into a friend at an exhibition
a friend from way back
when we thought the revolution was near
and the work we did in art important
to its advent, was a reminder
of how fine it all turned out
we’re a lot older, of course
some, many, didn’t get this far
his hair is still red, mine is all grey
silver if you want to be cultured
he’s still gaunt, I’m more like a pear
but we both still believe
we’ve learnt that ideologies suck
that was clear from our omissions
human flourishing is still the goal
no one is a means to someone’s end
and there’s much work left to do
we could compare current cases
tacitly we were both aware
there’s no shortcut on this path
his youthful smile made me grateful
when he spoke of his efforts
on behalf of a colleague. I grew
nostalgic for the future