Superficial Smiles

Superficial Smiles by Shane Cogan

A trapped house can be worse than a prison
Cell doors open daily, a sealed house door never
Guards who snarl or smile is a guard forever
They also torture, but you found your own prism
Selected friends are such a treasure
Deselect those friends at your leisure


Superficial smiles, superficial cries 
Superficial tastes, superficial wastes


Handshakes in the morning 
Sour milkshakes for lunch
Diluted conversations for dinner
Repetitive dreams again for bedtime

Small talk discussions over a croissant
Alcohol dimensions under a florescent
Frantic racing is your new norm
A lost cause, caught up in a storm


Superficial smiles, superficial cries 
Superficial lies, superficial allies


Silly allergies are your only sickness 
You deem painkillers to be your only cure
Subscription pills for the old highs
Illegals for the new lows

What is right in one place 
Deemed a disease or a disgrace
Solitude is your new pleasure 
Despair is a lonely measure


Superficial smiles, superficial cries 
Superficial spies with superficial eyes


Today's headline is tomorrow's forgotten story
Profits over people, with business in all its glory 
Che Guevara t-shirts or Guerrilla warfare neritic?
Revolutionary heroes or a Sunday armchair critic?

Mass television pictures replacing dialogue
Mindless headline people news is our new fog
What would you do now for a taste of reality?
Do you miss and crave my sensuality?

A frank remark is better than a false smile
Our historical heroes are now sadly footnoted
No longer accepted, no longer quoted
Smiles mean nothing; a false handshake is our new style


Superficial smiles, superficial cries 
Superficial skies with superficial eyes


© Shane Cogan, 2013

Copyright © | Year Posted 2013



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