I was a teenage existentialist

"We're all going to die" was pretty much the gist

And everyone in Sartre's room was on the same page

A room of gloom, a page of desperation and rage

But where there is despair there's empathy as well

There are other people in hell

And death was the universal solvent

A colossal and calamitous involvement

We thought wе had it all worked out but then

"Mankind" somehow dwindlеd down to "men"

And, wronged, heaven knows how you suffered

At the hands of a man you were so wrong

To make your lover

Your secular religion borrowed sin

But not forgiveness or redemption

For you, whoever once has crossed the line

Must wander endlessly through time

You like to keep forgiveness for the few

You and you, but not you

You draw the lines dividing this from that

Determine who can wear the bloody hat

You mount campaigns to scare

And also sensitise the others

Fair enough

All men are clearly not your brothers

And, wronged, heaven knows how you suffered

At the hands of a man you were so wrong

To make your lover

I was a teenage existentialist

A wishy-washy liberal humanist

I thought I had it all worked out but then

Mankind somehow dwindled down to men