Paul Shapera
Building A Show
Raven: Good night everyone, it was wonderful to see you all
Isabela: We must do this again my darlings
Lloyd: Be careful traveling so far out. The metaverse can be a dangerous place
Isabela: I have Michael here to look out for me
Michael: I’ll take good care of her, don’t worry
Lloyd: We’ll talk about “you know what” later
Raven: You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you like
Jill: I just need a little base of operations for a few months. I’ll be coming and going
Raven: We love to have you. It feels like home again
Jill:
So the gang agrees to once again design, conceive
Another show they hope will free post humans from their sleeping state
A new dream has emerged and so inspired they get to work
Their show “The River” will give birth to an era gold and great
Raven, Lloyd, Marjolein, & Sarah:
Let, let a new seed go, let a new dream grow
Let a new era usher in
Let all the sadness (let all the sadness) be in the past let
Love and a dream grow here again
Let, let a new seed go, let a new dream grow
Let a new era usher in
Let all the sadness (let all the sadness) be in the past let
Love and a dream grow here again
…
Jill:
They bond as they create, exchange ideas and innovate
But underneath a darker weight begins to subtly emerge
Soon convictions and debates will lead to dark and bitter days
Alas the good days never stay, and soon the mood itself will turn
Lloyd:
The show’s designed with a river that winds
Through their psyche, in fact, the eight circuits of mind
They must break these deceits they perceive
Concepts that they believe, views of reality
Raven:
The trek alas can be both wretched and sad
A spiraling path where one believes that they’re mad
You understand we must be the soft hand
Through this laborious land, gently go as we can
Sarah:
The burden lies not to compromise, coddle and indulge those who will not rise
It’s our fate here to liberate, to create a strong, great and higher race
Raven: I’m not comfortable with
Sarah: Sleep with me
Raven: Wait, what
Sarah: You’re always game, let’s do it
Raven: I don’t... I’m not comfortable with... not with playhouse family
Sarah: You slept with Isabela and Lloyd
Raven: But Isabela isn’t really... and Lloyd... Lloyd
Sarah: So it’s just me
Raven: No, I just... I’m not comfortable
Sarah: All right, I get it
Lloyd:
Our players lead by
Raven: Puppies
Lloyd: Puppies?
Raven: Puppies
Lloyd:
To the caves and the realm
Of their subconscious selves
A disconnect here we usually try
But maybe beauty instead we can use here
Sarah:
Why?
You yourselves said that trauma’s key
All their lives are just shades and fantasies
Raven:
Trauma’s not some mirage, it’s real
What’s not illusion is all of these things that you feel
Sarah:
Life in chains is suffering it’s already pain how can you not see
We must use the most effective means, they will thank us when they are finally free
Raven: How did you flower?
Sarah: Well there was a... this… lt involved… It involved a... a poltergeist. I don’t wanna talk about it. I... I don’t wanna talk about it
Lloyd: Ravy, don’t be silly
Raven: I’m not, there’s something off about her. It’s not just some of her ideas. Sometimes I get glimpses behind her mask, there’s some dark resentment brewing
Lloyd: Ravy, love and a dream, remember? Don’t ruin it
Jill:
The months they pass on by, some are happy but despite
Their intentions though they try, trouble brews beneath the waves
The differences we see, in their two philosophies
Become bitter till one day, tempers flair and finally break
Sarah:
The world is just a miserable place where dominators dominate
We must free and liberate it is up to us to an army make
New recruits you train and break, you mold as soldiers recreate
It’s not a dance, some give and take, power doesn’t give so you must take
Flowering just shows you that you’re a puppet still licking boots and cracks
Narratives hold you in their grasp, just another boss, just another laugh
If we really want to liberate, be on top, it’s an army we must make
I couldn’t even get a simple ice cream, but our army will conquer all reality