Shadows of the Cave

Chained to the stone since the day of my birth
Watching the flicker, the puppet-show earth
Shadows of statues, of men and of beasts
I called them the truth, I believed in the feast

But a crack in the ceiling…
A sliver of white…

I broke every shackle! I crawled through the ash!
The fire behind me – it burned but I laughed!
The mouth of the cavern! The sky and the sun!
The real world is blinding – the false world is done!

But if I go back… will they call me a liar?
The prisoners pray to the shade and the fire
The chains are more gentle than knowing the fall
I’ve seen the true Light… but I’m chained to the wall

I returned to the cave with the sun in my eyes
The shadows were clumsy, pathetic, disguised
“The world is just fire and figures of bone”
They laughed and they said: “You have died and come home”

They chose… the dark…
They love… the mark…
The lie… is warm…
The truth… is storm…

But if I go back… will they call me a liar?
The prisoners pray to the shade and the fire
The chains are more gentle than knowing the fall
I’ve seen the true Light… but I’m chained to the wall

Let me scream through the ages! Let me tear out my tongue!
A prophet is nothing where everyone’s numb!
The cave is a kingdom, the shadow a god!
I’ll smash every statue! I’ll spit on the fraud!

“Plato knew… the ones who saw the sun… never rule the cave.”