As if he was an alien
observing human beings
so as to pretend he was one of them
he lived his life doing things
not because he wanted to
but because he thought
that's what people did

As if modern conveniences
were an unwonted imposition
and the ambitious dreamer
had no choice but to acquiesce
to the blind bargain offered up 
it increasingly seemed
by a contagious smiling devil

As if he felt accused
of all he would most deny
as if memory were untrue
and his signature a tangled lie
his defence was strong and unswerving
he loved anything that was suffering
he knew because it made him cry