Crossroads
At the crossroads….
It would be presumptuous to state we are in chaos,
For me to assume society is at the verge.
That any moment we will be forced into stasis,
or torn apart by pathos, at a crossroads unpurged.
A state of Bedlam, how else would you describe it?
Disorder and confusion clouds the frontal lobe.
Are we at the brink of nihilism, is it truly legit,
Should we destroy Two centuries plus, just to change wardrobes?
I think not. But I know now the foundation is cracked
And we are sinking to whence the soul became.
Churlish behaviors are now accepted, kids raised without tact,
taught such egregious principles of societal decay,—
and it is consented with a wandering eye from the truth
just to press an agenda, how childish to say the least.
Why do we not admonish those who poison our youth?
Is it because we forgot about the adversarial beast
The grand illusion, led by a cadre of ignorance,
When in the backgrounds, the reaper yearns for feeding.
Bony eyes pried open, his feast akin to indifference,
The sound of metal sharpened, for he cares not to reason.
Debate, however, we should, in a soul searching mood,
The tremulous clamor of unrest clustered about.
In our streets, the media’s grasp corrupts the shrewd,
and the puppet strings of politics are pulled by greed and doubt.
We fall under the guise of those arbiters of fact,
Because the truth to them has myriad definitions
We condemn one’s foibles as though an unaided act,
Knowing that freedom while maddening, has one clear mission.
But when we let politics choose who gets this gift,
we inevitably enter into a decline,
our souls careening down the versant towards the abyss
and if we keep the course, we then will be defined,—
not as that mighty empire that fell in modern days
but the country that caved into the pulse of anarchy,
The country that destroyed itself within its own gaze,
expired by the foolish hoi polloi tongues of vanity.
In a few short months the very fabric that we entwined,
The precipice of our great melting pot became just that.
The intermingling of race and creeds that were combined,
were forcefully cleft by an agenda that a few radicals had.
And it propagated. Driven by opinion,
The culture shifted, and the purge was digital
Revolution climaxed, and we were outside looking in,
In at this inside world of erroneous principles.
The revolution of Zero, of Zero intellect,
Zero logic, zero knowledge, and zero civility.
Confusion at the collegiate level helped it manifest,
and proxy wars were then fought with hostility.
I remember I used to walk my dog in the park,
Observing the vibrant dentistry displayed by all.
It was remarkable, and each eye had a vivid spark,
a joy in the undertone of dialogue that I recalled.
Then slowly I began to see the faces fading,
Until I was the only one left on that modest path.
I felt the harsh side of darkness, I saw it pervading,
Even this small patch of grass with swings had felt the wrath.
It was inevitable. How great we had become,
Bu, there was always something lingering in the background.
Today it is our past. Too many are unhinged by it and succumb.
Too many are angered by something we can’t control now.
Anger is enough to destroy anyone and all their meritorious efforts.
And though our ancestor’s actions leave us with much to discuss
Like bad distortions of our country, and false shepherds,
Why did we turn to violence? Is this nowwhat we’ve become!?
A country dappled with many cultures, ones that could not blend,
Ones that won’t break down the inner walls so they stopped trying
And vainly then began to blame each other, even friends—
Couldn’t see past their differences, as the knot kept untying
And soon we were left with just a small piece of string
To try and salvage a civil unrest, but to try and tame the inner hatred,
we pulled harder, knowing that string, when tested, could bring
cohesion or have the contra effect, willing us so jaded.
But we pulled, because we needed something to cling to,
like a few threads falling meagerly amidst the dust,
how quickly those threads fell, like statues to a blind man’s view,
when justice is a social belief, not an absolute must.
Even the most finely woven tapestry can be severed,
When the bonds that are central become worn and obscured.
Must we suffer some catastrophic endeavor
for us to put aside our differences and mature?
If not then I must be sceptic of the path we are on
The totality of our culture relies on its people
Though being sceptic is a dip into revolution
How else could I be, if not true to my own freedoms?
The voice of freedom bourgeons best in placid breadths,
Not in the vile burning tongue of false prophets and haters
But to complete the devolution of this western test,
This new approval of violence can be the detonator.
We keep toting about this notion of greatness,
of having the best regime of free speech on the planet.
But the fact of the matter is, these radical shameless
Have attenuated speech so much that it has vanished
The media’s bewitchment of violence to solve violence
is a modern bane that mistook movement for progress.
Nazis again are bad enough, but to devolve into nihilists,
Is not the answer sought after for human success.
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Your words bring truth… Great piece Paul
Thank you!!
It is a harsh, cruel world we live in now. I fondly remember the 1950s when America was centered around family, love and peace. Even though I was a kid then, I was aware of the beauty of life, the closeness of family, the devoted teachers who taught us manners, kindness, square dancing, along with the curriculum, the friendliness of neighbors who gathered for holidays and sat on their porches on summer nights telling stories. It has changed into a world so different that the younger generations have no idea what it used to be like. Great work here, Paul.
Just in the last couple of years it has become very volatile. I remember when I was a kid I used to ride my bike a good 2 miles to the local 7-11 just to get a slurpee or a candy bar. Now I would never entertain letting my kids go up and down the streets. It’s a volatile world we live in now. Thank you so much Phyllis.
Firstly let me congratulate you sir on winning the Writer’s on the Web contest, you deserved it, as your work was excellent, well penned. This work is a shout out to many people in your country feeling what you have brilliantly expressed. It’s bad enough to know that our world is in flux, turmoil and unrest. The USA has always been the strength and leader in the world. But that’s changing, too much turmoil in all sectors of the country is shouting out uncertainty, where others have felt the comfort knowing all is well and their backs are covered, there now is much doubt. Politics have gotten so ugly, peoples mistrust and the media hate coming from all directions, make for a very unstable political climate. The days are gone of trusting the government and the huge outcry from the public with violence in the streets, attacks on the innocents, groups rising and inflicting war against the country is devastating. I hope that changes come that will put the country back on the tracks, because right now the wheels are starting to fall off. The times they are a changing, that’s a very sad reality in many ways. Well penned Paul, as always your expressive work rivets one to your messages.
Thank you so much Vincent. There were so many good entries I am honored to win. I think the exposure of the fake news to me has been the craziest thing. I mean back when I was younger I used to watch CNN and ABC news and believed it was fact they were speaking, to now come to the sad realization that they are guilty of being manipulated as well is very sobering to me. It is true that we are always looked upon as the gold standard for the world. Our decisions are very relevant to the rest of the world. And to watch us spiral out of control has to be an alarming thing to experience. Thank you so much Vincent I do appreciate your comments
What an amazing piece of writing, Paul. It actually leaves me lost for words on how to even make a comment worthy of it other than to say I agree with everything you say and I hope many more people…especially those who need the message…read this.
I know your country is in turmoil but I see many of the same signs happening here in my own as well. I often think back and long for the world to be like it was when I was a child growing up with barely a care in the world. Also, my congratulations on winning the Writers on the Web contest. Thoroughly deserved, you are one of my favourite writers.
John thank you so much for the congrats and the kind words that followed. Truly an honor. These days I think the idea of “How goes the US goes the rest of the world.” It may not be as drastic but as you can attest you see small pieces in your own country, the turmoil us real. I feel as though we will soon see some for of a civil unrest, hopefully not a war. I pray to rven be back to when I was a child in the 80s. Things seemed so much easier, even for my parents. Now being a parent of 3 I worry for my children, what the he’ll are they going to grow up in? Thank you so much again John
Nice piece Paul, and sadly true of many countries now as narcissistic leaders drag us all down into an abyss. Lets hope we can change what has already been done and bring balance back to this fragile earth. Congrats for the competition win; well deserved my friend.
Thank you so much Tony for the congrats. Yeah we are in turmoil, even down to the local levels now. It’s getting worse and worse and I wish people could see the ignorance spilling over on the political level. Some times it seems as though the things that matter get pushed aside for an agenda and to me that is disgusting. I pray for peace everyday. Sometimes it feels as though it falls on deaf ears. Thankcyou again my friend
Paul,
This is heavy, but thus is the world in which we live. The truth needs to be told. Pollyanna attitude about what is happening around us will just not do. Thank you for sharing these words in which we need to take heed. And, you have done beautifully, at that.
Exactly. Some people need to hear it. So what if it ruins their agenda or breaks their walls. This craziness is getting out of control. Thank you so much for your kind words Tamara, I do very much appreciate them