Everyone they know
Hates someone from
The other side,
Yet they come together,
Make friends,
Share stories,
Discover how much
They have in common.
He fancies himself
Superior,
The smug emperor
Standing on the
Heads of his subjects,
Declaring that
They’re far better
Off with the
Prospect of
Illness and
Ruination.
Repositioning
Their masks,
Playing
Meticulously
Sanitized characters.
Time dutifully
Alters perception
Until it barely
Resembles anything
Tangible.
They try to go back,
But reality has an
Unsubtle way of
Imposing itself on
The wishful.
It’s painfully clear
That everything
We thought would
Happen will,
Depravity having
Its moment on stage,
Plunging
All else
Into darkness.
Working and reworking
The thing without any
Clear idea of what it’s
Supposed to look like.
Sure, he’s read plenty
About what needs
To be done, but none of
It makes sense.
Forging onward with
The distinct feeling
That this may not be
The path either.
Brutalized by someone
They trusted,
Living adult lives of
Overt fear and anger,
Lashing out at
Imagined adversaries,
Pretending to be strong,
Whimpering inside,
Devotedly following the
First tyrant that
Comes their way.
Trying to find some
Semblance of feeling
Behind those lifeless eyes,
But there isn’t any,
Extinguished by some
Authority figure who
Taught him that
The world is a
Very hard place and
That he should
Be harder.
They hope you won’t
Notice everything
They’re taking away,
How they’re obliterating
Compassion and decency,
Leaving behind a charred
Dystopia with a few obscenely
Affluent creatures reveling in
Manicured enclaves
Surrounded by monstrous gates.
Waking up with yet another ache,
Making coffee,
Looking at the trees,
Wondering how many more days are left
And what happens after it all.
A breeze makes its appearance,
Proof that all is in motion,
Nothing ever stands still.
