Power Ames

A passing stranger dressed in black

With slogans painted on his back

Turned and stared and laughed and carried on

Another came and did the same

At first they made me feel ashamed

But then I realised what I had done

Without asking I had broke the rules

Without knowing, I had made them fools

By merely looking different

To those who knew the game

The unity was there to see

A mass of non-conformity

There s something wrong, or is it me?

But they all look just the same

They hung around in silent pairs

And gave out their derisive stares

To anyone who envied or ignored

A leaflet saying Smash the state

Work in love and not hate

Got snatched and ripped and ground into the floor

Without asking it, I had caught them out

Without knowing what it was all about

They assumed it was a wind-up or a con

Making sure with a nervous glance

They re-affirmed each other s stance

And smiled and then forgot and carried on

The passing strangers stayed that way

And rotted away in their own decay

Convinced they d got it right, the rest were wrong

By deriding them to gain respect

They tied a noose around their neck

And fell when something different came along

Without asking them, they were soon put down

Without knowing why, they looked around

And found a new dictatorship in power

Acting just as they had done

But on the other end it s not much fun

And all their sweet delusions soon turned sour

One man s hand is another man's fist

And so the power games still exist

And on idea is right, the rest are wrong

While such ideas as this are here

We'll never live without the fear

Of feeling that we somehow don't belong