I can’t look anywhere but
out my little office window
cause it’s
war all the time
whether it be
nations, neighbors
or lovers

dictators march us
towards a slow doom
and the world burns
with promises of reprisal

the tv screams
buy this and hate that
with shades of trauma
passed over dishonor
haunting as it casts a glowing shadow
across a dirty floor

no more love
peace decays as
million dollar bombs scatter
the cries of innocent children
left to linger in the winds
of ignorance waiting in vain
to be heard by a populace
too dumbed down by alcohol
sex, and prescription trivialities

art remains obscure
this world is dying
and with it
your souls

toxic waste and gene editing
public education and manipulation
artificial intelligence
fast food and obesity
homelessness and sex slave rings
addiction dependency
global warming
global cooling
anxiety and corrupt morality
all subtle signs
of a sixth extinction fast approaching

steeping aside
outside it all
i could sit and watch
waiting for the end
living in the memory of when
we held each other
by the light of a forest moon
bonfires, mountains
love in bloom
it was just a brief moment in time
and now almost seems good enough

tell me goodbye, one last time

I used to believe that love and art
could save the world
I’m not so sure anymore
maybe the best that love and art
can  do is save you
from yourself
providing a small shelter from
the chaos around us all

the world changes
and so with it, do we
careening towards
this false specter of growth
yet so much remains the same
as we shuffle on towards
what we believe is a complete end