So much stuff and so little happiness
The corporate gods demand we buy, buy, buy
To the exclusion of all the old values
Love, caring, sharing

Even the poor have stereos, colour TVs, Nike runners and track suits
They may not have enough food to last until
The next welfare, pension, paycheque
But they can look good and watch MTV while they starve

The corporate gods and their lackeys
Needle us at every opportunity
Insisting we can't live without their stuff
Exhorting us to find the path to enlightenment through stuff
Declaring that Nirvana is obtained when we acquire all stuff
But they keep raising the bar
Producing still more stuff we can't live without

So we scurry about in obeyance
Trying fruitlessly to satisfy the corporate gods
Forgetting about the old gods
The Creator of All Things
Mother Earth
Raven and Coyote
The spirits of the trees and animals
The spirits within ourselves

The old gods like stuff too
Not the useless, destructive, envy-creating stuff of the corporate gods
But the things we create with our own hands to bring beauty into the world
Things with meaning and purpose which celebrate Creation
That which we fashion to bring joy and inspiration into our lives
Which satisfy the old values, the old gods and ourselves