If We Had But(t) The Truth

Oh hey, you, sweetie,
Would you please pinch me?!
Now deceit’s the new normal,
Political ritual?

If we had but(t) the truth,
Not twisted under oath,
If we knew what is fair,
Unclouded by despair.

If we had but(t) good men,
Fair, honest, just good men,
If we had but(t) freedom,
Not foul play, and then some...

We could maybe not freeze,
We could maybe still breathe,
We could maybe still hope,
Through the tightening rope.

If we had but(t) the law,
Abandoned on the go,
If we had but(t) some grace,
Not just farts with no face.

If we had but(t) the truth,
Not shaded by the cross,
If we had benevolence,
Not bloodied by violence…

We could maybe still grow,
We could maybe still flow,
We could maybe still glow
Instead of just blow, blow, blow...

But instead we have blaspheme,
Selling faiths made of memes,
And some fools framing shame,
And kids’ futures gone freaking lame.

We have pundits of poison,
We have felons of treason,
We have prayers for profit,
We lost the meaning of it.

We have kings without conscience,
We have crooks-ruled science,
We have books but(t) gone bust,
Fascist bile that blows dust.

We have decrees of what’s vile,
Signed by hands that defile,
We have piety pimped out,
To the dumbest denial.

If we had but(t) the shame,
If we dared not be lame,
If we felt but(t) the grief,
Not numbed out disbelief…

We might still sing a song,
But we'd know we were wrong.
Instead, lives were forlorned,
Just another day gone…

Just another day gone.