NO LIMITS

looking back
i've spent an awful long time
jumping through hoops
and i've wasted an awful lot of energy
trying to conform to other people's expectations
make no mistake
the brainwashing that starts at birth
worked on me
just as effectively as it works on everyone else
i was a good boy
i kept my head down
i toad the line
i kept my parents and teachers happy
most of the time
(except when i was nasty to my younger brother)
i followed the rules
i tried to fit in as best as i could
i studied hard enough
to pass my exams
and 'get an education'
altogether
i adapted to life behind bars pretty well
the meaty sugary fatty diet
the daily routine
i wore the uniforms
i drank the fizzy lager
i learned how to indulge in the banter
even my year (and a half) off post-university
was a textbook example of youthful self-indulgence
oh yes
dear friends
i accepted the limitations
i expected the expectations
i assumed the assumptions
i deferred to my greaters and betters
i never questioned the rules of the game
the narrow confines
the choice between pepsi and pepsi lite
prawn cocktail or salt n vinegar
cadburys or galaxy
colgate or aquafresh
ah! i was a slave
to the conditioned aspirations
the convenient lies
the chasing of rainbows
the pursuit of pleasure
the hunt for happiness
the definitions of success
the allure of money
the bombardment of mass culture
the acquistion of material possessions
the crystalline rush of power
the soothing massage of ego
i could not see beyond it
my horizons were hemmed in
i was the frog in the well
the fish in the small pond
the willing cog in the machine
until one day
i can't remember when
i started to notice a crack in the edifice
gradually the cracks began to multiply
until one day there was a gaping hole
appropriately enough
i probably have the internet to thank for that
the woodle's teacher says
she's a bright kid
but she doesn't get down to her work
i say: "she's a bit of a dreamer like her dad"
but secretly i'm pleased
she's putting up some resistance to the hoops