Two Towers

There were two towers
Of equal heights
One to the west
One to the east

The tower to the west 
Was of silicon and wires
Black and polished 
With hundreds of lights 
And small flickering screens

A voice from powerful loudspeakers
Urging the faithfuls to kneel
"We have solutions 
To your every need
All kinds of great machines
That will help you feel fulfilled
For you they will think
And amuse your kids
You will not need to know anything
All is there for you
At the flick of a switch
Who needs a mind when you have a machine!
Our mighty great computer
Will replace your will
Evolve!
Become one of us
Our digital church
Is all you need
Look at all our screens!
The future is us
Believe!"

The tower to the east
Was of jade and marble and gold
With thousands of burning incense sticks
Covered in hebrew, arabic and latin characters
With mysterious frescoes
Solemn and frightening

A voice from its top
Enunciated strings of prayers
In some weird languages of the past
That no-one could understand
"Kneel, pray, lower your heads
As this is the will of our Lord almighty
The sole true god
That is perfection and light and purity
Repent, fast, abstain
Repeat after me
Our laws are sacred and holy
We are the church of Almighty
The only true expression of his will
Make offerings, repeat after me
You will be pure and wise
Truly superior to those
Who do not worship here
At the count of three
Get on your knees
This is the true will
Of God Almighty"


I covered my ears
To shut out 
The hypnotic messages
Of propaganda
And continued walking faithfully
Towards the beautiful valleys
I had seen in my dreams