In the State We’re In, We’ll Not Go Far

~ Liza Fernandez

In the state we’re in, we’ll not go far.
In the state we’re in, we may not make it till tomorrow.

The streets narrow the closer we get to their end.
The rivers lose their rushing the nearer we come to their edge.
The wolves come out to play (for them) and to devour (for us).
In the state we’re in, we’ll not make it past this night.

But we’ll try, simply because we will not go back.
We’ll try; we’ll fight. We’ll chase the moon around the earth as long as it will lead us.

The answers we once knew fly off us as we run forward, like leaves being stripped off branches in violent wind. Once defining arrows now curve into never-ending circles. Once clear-cut lines now smudge and dissolve into eraser dust. This is the state we’re in.

Who will stop us? Who will say, “Enough”?
Where do we go to be too tired to move forward? Where do we go so our minds can no longer spin?
Time runs after time. Space impedes space. Light devours light.
We’re just left to run, to impede, to devour.

We seek shelter in the shadows and hover underneath the darkness. Nothing crumbles in the shadows. Nothing breaks in the night. Darkness leaves itself alone.

In the state we’re in, we’ll leave light to deal with darkness.
In the state we’re in, we’ll leave night to pursue day.

In the state we’re in, we’ll simply walk away.

(Partly inspired by “Reckoner,” by Radiohead)

8 thoughts on “In the State We’re In, We’ll Not Go Far”

  1. Pingback: Favorites of 2015 |

  2. I know you’re referencing a song from the album In Rainbows, but your lyrics are also reminiscent of the sentiments in Hail to the Thief (e.g., “Sail to the Moon” comes to mind, or “A Wolf at the Door”).

    Nicely done.

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    1. Thank you, Adam. And, you’re totally right. I hand’t thought of those songs or Hail to the Thief when writing this, but when I imagine them as a backdrop for this post, they make sense. I kind of feel like the best would be if it were a combination of the calm airy-ness of “Sail to the Moon” with the lyrical aggression of “A Wolf at the Door.”

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      1. Nicely put. However, I do feel that there’s a little something unsettling in the otherwise “calm” “Sail to the Moon” – especially with the slightly shrill vocalizing of Thom Yorke and the lyrics that reference a certain “president” (GWB, ca. 2004) operating the ship.

        Yeah, I’ve invested too much time in that album.

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    1. Thanks for reading, AJ. I’m glad to hear you like those lines. For me, they reflect how I perceive darkness operates sometimes, but I’d love to hear if you come to a different conclusion or if you have other thoughts.

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Thoughts?