Tried And Tested

Tried and tested
 Tried and tested
 By the cries of birds
 By the lies I've heard
 By my own loose talk
 By the way I walk
 By the claws of beasts
 By the laws of priests
 By the glutton's feast
 By the word police
 By the planet's arc
 By the falling dark
 By the state of the art
 By the beat of my heart
 By dark finance
 By the marketing dance
 By the poverty trance
 By the fateful glance
 Tried and tested
 Tried and tested
 By the pressure to rhyme
 By the wages of crime
 By the drop of a dime
 By the ghost of the times
 By the spurs of desire
 By "What does love require"
 By what I waited for
 By what showed up at the door
 Tried and tested
 Tried and tested
 By the nation wide
 By the tears I've cried
 By the lure of false pride
 By the need to take sides
 By the weight of choice
 By the still small voice
 By things I forget
 By what I haven't met yet
 Tried and tested
 Tried and tested
 Pierced by beauty's blade and skinned by wind
 Begged for more -- was given -- begged again
 I'm still here
 I'm still here
 Tried and tested
 Tried and tested