Unangelic Voices EP by Kerry JK
There’s no such word as impossible
He realised one day
So he took his dictionary
And he cut that word away
And he sat there feeling wonderful
He thought of all the things he could do
That’s when he realised
He’d have to cut some other words too.
So he took out his thesaurus
And he waved his magic wand
He cut out unattainable
Undoable and beyond
‘Cause there’s no such word as impossible
There’s nothing we can’t realise
If the world and all its wonders
Can be cut down to our size
‘Cause when you’re young
Nothing is impossible
Everything’s right there for you to try
But the more we learn the less we know
The next step comes in letting go
To understand we’re all just children
And there’s no such word as evil
And there’s no such word as good
And there’s no such word as justice
He got rid of them while he could
With just his magic scissors
And a movement of his hand
He could rid his world of anything
He didn’t like or understand
‘Cause when you’re dumb
Nothing is impossible
Everything’s right there for you to try
But the more we learn the less we know
The next step comes in letting go
To understand we’re all just children
As the litter built up all around
He had brief cause to doubt
There were more words on the other side of each page
He’d have to also live without
But those collateral words
Scattered on the floor
Weren’t needed for his perfect world
And they died in a good cause
With his new truncated language
He felt like a god on high
No obstacles left in his way
Like Superman he could fly
He could make the world his plaything
He could soar just like a bird
And in the streets down below
An ambulance was heard
You know that nothing is impossible
But as human beings we can but only try
And you set yourself up for a fall
If you ever think you’ve sussed it all
‘Cause we are all just children
You know that nothing is impossible
Everything’s right there for you to try
But the more we learn the less we know
The next step comes in letting go
To understand we’re all just children
We are all just children
And nothing is impossible (repeat)
In middle school we were told a story about an alleged “wise man” who cut the word “impossible” out of his dictionary to make some statement or other. Many of us immediately saw the flaw in this act of utter stupidity (what about the words on the other side of the page?), it stays with me as a warning of how destructive acts of censorship can result from what feel like positive and assertive motives.