Stood pooled in porch light
Cut my shadow off with a dull knife
Whispered in its ear, then sent it off into the night
Set the trap for the mice, the rats
Whatever’s in the pipes
Corner of your eye, the edge of the white
That’s where I live, I’m set for life
“Sadly, I think that the notion of a utopia died at some point in the 20th Century — two vast utopian projects, Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany, turned into the greatest nightmares the human race has ever experienced, and people now are understandably skeptical about any future utopia. We’re still living in the aftermath of an extremely dangerous century. People today are rightly skeptical about any proclaimed intentions to build heaven on earth.”
J. G. Ballard