Don't Look Down

 

Don’t look down, it’s a long long way to fall...

from the top of your ivory tower
from the lapis lip of your private pool
from the golden height of your power
from the lap of wealth
to the bare dead earth
to the shantytown where the vultures rule
to the street that’s an open sewer
to the broken pavement
to the open grave meant
for the kids who never went to school
for the hopes that every day grow fewer
for the folks who live on garbage and gruel

Oh, don’t look down.

Sit on sand-castles til the tide comes in
don’t look down
Try out for tennis in a rising wind
don’t look down
This is the way it has always been
clocks don’t tick and nothing begins
but the gleam on your tower is the Reaper’s grin
so don’t look down.

Sao Paulo, Brazil. Image from Deputy Dog.