Calamity Game

By Cliff Lake

Calamity Game

 

The loudest voices

Screech at each other

And still struggle to be heard.

An operatic dissonance

A bewilderment

And an entertainment

Obscuring the instrument

Grinding a world to dust.

These words have been said

Too many times,

Too many ways,

By so many others,

And still go unheeded

By nearly all of us.

How have we been trapped?

With easy conveniences?

Yes.

With the promise of indulgence?

Surely.

With fears of impoverishment,

Of having just a bit less,

Or a disagreeable moment?

Absolutely.

Greed is the human absolute.

It may be evidenced

By the quest for the better blanket,

The fancier coffee,

Or new pants in BOTH colors.

Our rising seas,

Worsening storms,

Expanding droughts,

Are all fired by the human absolute:

The lust for “better’, “more”,

Or simply different

From what we already possess.

We are still toddlers saying “Mine, mine, MINE.”

The worst part?

So many of us know that…

And not enough care.

We may not see the day

That the world catches fire.

Those that do will be heard crying

“WHY???”

Just before they go looking

For a “better” cave to hide in.

But that’s the future.

Me?

I’m going to change into another shirt…

A different shirt.

A nicer shirt.

It’s getting so warm in here…

 

Cliff Lake 5/30/2023

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023


Location: Dalton, MA, USA

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