The Pruning

On the border of an orchard
On a cultivated lawn
Where they practice horticulture
There they know what’s going on
They're not afraid to cut it. 

Well then, the best get picked 
From this virtuous thicket, 
By scythe or scissor, 
By instrument and implement. 
That's how they cut it. 

It's time to trim and thin 
An invasive vine. 
The roots are lifted, 
The leaves are dry. 
From natural laws to material things, 
Nothing in the truth can be changed. 

Oh perilous world- 
You’re showing every sign of losing your heart. 
Fledgling and tattered 
during these strange later days
just before it all fell apart. 

You can build such fantastic palaces 
On foundations of straw, 
On weird promises, 
But with one fatal flaw. 

The seedling is taken as a delicacy, 
By the sower who’s mowing down the nursery. 
The reaper is hiding in the flowerbeds. 
They’re each thinking over what the other said. 

They said “We each disturb the earth
But now my friend, yes, you did it first, 
Yes you did, la da de” 

It's time to trim and thin 
An invasive vine. 
The roots are lifted, 
The leaves are dry. 
From natural laws to material things, 
Nothing in the truth can be changed. 

Oh, you perilous garden. 
Forever dying.