The Matrix

Goaded and harassed in the factory

That tears our life up into bits of days

Ticked off upon a clock which never stays,

Shredding our portion of Eternity,

We break away at last, and steal the key

Which hides a world empty of hours; ways

Of space unroll, and Heaven overlays

The leafy, sun-lit earth of Fantasy.

Beyond the ilex shadow glares the sun,

Scorching against the blue flame of the sky.

Brown lily-pads lie heavy and supine

Within a granite basin, under one

The bronze-gold glimmer of a carp; and I

Reach out my hand and pluck a nectarine.