People say they would never cheat their countrymen out of their shared democracy
But then
well the opportunity presents itself
and a little nibble’s nibbled
and nothing really happens
the sky doesn’t crash down
God doesn’t stride across the scene
the devil doesn’t usher you into the flames

Every time it gets a little easier
until it becomes your God-given right
to borrow what you’ll never pay back
to heartily agree with obvious lies
to buy your wife a nice new sofa with a little of the proceeds
you earned by being a good boy
and forgetting what you saw, forgetting what you heard,
forgetting what you felt
deep inside
in the part that still remembers
who you are
who we are
what life is