Lost World

Lost World

The old man sighed,

Staring at the nothing in front of him,

Or maybe it was everything.

Shaking his head, he started talking,

Maybe to himself,

Maybe to me,

But I think it was the unhearing world.

He told of the battles he had won.

He talked more of those lost.

He spoke of the hand he held forth spurned,

He talked of so many turning away.

He said the world was too cold,

And that everyone’s eyes were dead.

He told of a thing called trust,

Of how it had become lost to time,

Or perhaps thrown away.

He said that once only the wicked told lies,

And how he could no longer tell them apart,

From anyone else.

He spoke of the bright future promised,

When everyone would be fed,

And all the world’s ills healed,

And how he never saw it fall apart.

He said there was nothing left to believe in.

And then he said goodbye.

I went home and turned on the TV

To forget about the crazy man

Because everything is fine.

But everything the news says is hollow,

So, I am lying here in bed, not sleeping.

Not sleeping again…

Cliff Lake 12/10/2023

CliffSongs