MODERN MALAISE

There are no dragons left to slay.

No lands left to explore,

Nothing to conquer, nothing to tame.

No last undiscovered shore.

The great deeds are all done,

And the ballads are all sung.

The last great treasure has been found and spent;

All the heroes are long dead

The adventurers sit at home, content

And the last spell has been said.

The great deeds are all done,

And the ballads are all sung

There is no honour in battle anymore

Even the memory of glory has faded.

There are no causes left to die for.

Even the villains are boring and jaded,

The great deeds are all done,

And the ballads are all sung

I don’t want this Andy Warhol world;

I will pass on my 15 minutes of fame

I would rather leave no mark at all

Than burn so brief a flame

Then be forgotten.

History remembers only the few –

The remarkable, rebellious few.

And these days how to stand apart,

And leave an enduring mark?

There are no monsters left to hunt,

No great deeds left to do.