Religion

Five old men in beds,
in a hospital wing,
no family to visit,
none to send them things.

Confined to their beds,
every night and day,
they can hardly raise their heads,
from where they lay.

Upon a raiséd platform,
the leader has his bed,
where toward a window,
he can easily turn his head.

The only window in the room,
the portal to another world,
where you and I and many more,
go about duties as we're told.

The window placed upon the wall,
is only very small,
it's quite high up in positioning,
so no one else can see a thing.

And so the leader relates to them,
every night and every day,
what goes on about this world,
and what the likes of you and I say.

For it's only the leader,
- whose name is Sam -
who can see what takes place,
outside of their space.

The bang of a car door,
the others hear,
and demand to know,
whats happening so near.

Or the shouting and screaming,
of detestable things,
and other sentiments,
which argument brings.

It could be a siren,
it's noise so peircing,
the car zooming past,
ever so fast.

Sam peers out the window,
to look and to see,
just what is this thing,
which has come to be.

On every word,
which Sam would relate,
everything they heard,
their curiosity, would not be sate.

They call it "Utopia,"
the world of the real,
where people live,
and where people feel.

************

Sam, their leader,
had a heart of gold,
each of the men,
he knew of old.

Their habbits and needs,
he would know,
what had to be done,
in the way of deeds.

Hubert for instance,
had a shoddy bowel,
keep your distance,
or things could be foul.

Up to the toilet he would wander,
at two in the morning,
come rain or thunder,
every day, of every month, of every week, of every year.

And every time he would forget,
to send the contents through the drain,
and forget would he to pull the chain,
every single time it was the same.

He'd descend the step from the toilet,
and walk three paces to his bed,
he'd suddenly remember that again,
he had not yet pulled the chain.

Wallace was the second,
Hard of hearing was he,
yet every time Sam had beckoned,
the one to respond would be he.

The third was Walter;
it was not his memory,
but rather his knees,
which would falter.

The fourth of the brethren
(for that was the name,
which they'd been given,
by one and all, the same)

- His name was Harold,
and his eyesight was poor,
without the aid of spectacles,
he'd not see the floor!

*********

It was the custom,
of the brethren,
that when the leader died,
a new one was selected.

The leader would select,
Before his due demise,
a member of the elect,
but who, would remain a surprise.

For not until the death of Sam,
did they remove the paper,
from under the pillow,
upon which was written "Walter."

So upon the death of Sam,
Walter took his place,
upon the platform raiséd;
looked out to the window.

He said not a word,
Not a peep uttered he,
despite the requests of his followers,
now numbering three.

What had shocked Walter so,
What had Sam not revealed?
The high up window was a sham.

Instead of showing dazzeling views,
views of the world,
the land of the real,
it showed

an unremarkable

red brick wall.

Finally, Walter spoke,
said the following to his followers three:
"I see a car, the most magnificent thing,
Think of the joy to it's owner it must bring...."