Friday, December 27, 2019

day ONE THOUSAND and SEVENTY TWO

TWILIGHT OF EMPIRE

someone has to say it
so let me start:

we are finished
it's over

no more complaining
no fretting over details
you couldn't control if you tried
and you are miles past trying

the streets are filled with faces
the streets are filled with blank stares
and rage

they are home to our shared tragedy
and we are too numb to understand

we look everywhere and see the enemy
we look and see the attributes
we are told to hate

every hand could grasp another's hand
every face could turn toward another face

the man at the gas station hates you
because you make too much money
or not enough
and someone on his television
says he should

the woman in the grocery store
has been warned about you
by her preacher

even your children are caged,
their minds pummeled by falsehoods
tarted up like fun

soon, they will hate you too

the world is not working

people roam the lonely streets
searching for a leader
they want to hear that they are correct
to hate, justified in their fear

they want to know it is okay
to think of killing

some want to kill blacks,
some believe whites must be eliminated
with others, it is police
or politicians of a particular party
or those who might vote for them

I'm certain there are those
who have it in for Koreans
or people from Peru or Canada

and everyone hates Muslims, right?

your barber hates Mexicans
the pretty checkout girl
at the pharmacy hates gays

the people in your church
hate the people in the church
down the street
and don't think a whole lot of you

we live inside a game
held fast by a riddle

follow the lies
follow the money
follow the power

follow everyone who makes you
want to hate
and you will be lost in the maze

these are tricks, friend
follow them down the rabbit hole
and still you will be wrong

the unseen hand is at your throat
the unseen hand is jacking you off
the unseen hand can be a fist or a flower

I am finished
I am over it

the days are the same days
whether you suck down the fairy tale or not,
and I am through with the poison

so long

--Jeff Weddle

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