an absence of symbols

who knew the answer mattered not a whit
the flight of birds has much to signify
in shifting letters crawling through the sky
we can't perceive them not a little bit
it's much too simple to fall into a snit
and say that every claim is just a lie
we let the symbols and the meanings fly
the sudden silence means the birds have writ
a lot of what we know is not real fact
just dreams that we've mistaken for the real
magic we've found does not tell us too much
the truth has been scratched out and blacked
not one of us who won't in the end squeal
and leave the ball just barely out of touch