Once upon a time —
no, wait, slow,
That sounds too honest,
let it go.
There was a place with open eyes,
They watched the ground,
they watched the skies.
And then some lessons came to town —
No, not came,
they settled down.
They said they came to make things clean,
To teach the dark
what light should mean.
Careful, darling, words can bite,
Say them wrong
and lose the night.
La-la-la, la-la-la
Hush now, don’t react
La-la-la, la-la-la
Everything is under that
La-la-la, la-la-la
If it hurts, it’s just a sign
That the story’s
working fine
Some people stayed inside a room —
No, not stayed,
they paused till noon.
They learned new games:
don’t scream, don’t blink,
How long can lungs
forget to drink?
Hands were tied —
No, hands were placed.
Marks appeared —
No, skin was changed.
If someone stopped responding right,
They simply didn’t
pass the night.
If you name what you can feel,
It becomes
a bigger deal.
La-la-la, la-la-la
Close your ears, don’t interfere
La-la-la, la-la-la
Quiet people disappear
La-la-la, la-la-la
If a name is hard to say
It was never
meant to stay
Some bodies traveled late at night —
No, not bodies,
that’s impolite.
They were packages of pride,
Measured, counted,
sealed inside.
Gold was pinned where hearts once beat,
Claps replaced
the missing feet.
If they didn’t make it back,
They came back
as a fact.
First we softened what was done,
Then we said it saved someone.
Then we said it had to be,
Then we said,
“Don’t look at me.”
Screens spoke gently, warm and slow:
“If it hurts,
you wouldn’t know.
If you saw it, you’re confused.
Trust the sound
that we approve.”
La-la-la, la-la-la
Be polite and don’t resist
La-la-la, la-la-la
Good kids learn what not to miss
La-la-la, la-la-la
If you don’t come home again
That means you were
a better friend
Some cities learned to burn in rows
No not burned
just overflowed
Bodies counted, words stayed clean
Loss was large
but rarely seen
Flags were stitched where wounds had been
Blood was renamed
discipline
If you asked who paid the cost
You were told
the cost was lost
La-la-la, la-la-la
Sleep now, child, it’s all been fixed
La-la-la, la-la-la
Nothing here needs to exist
La-la-la, la-la-la
This is peace when noise is gone
This is love
that leaves no one
La-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
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