Distressed, Faded and Frayed

Unlike the poets Vallejo and Neruda

I have not known deep grief

grief that fashions splintered lives

and becomes the marrow of sleep

I have not tasted anguish to regurgitate

into my readers bosom

and leave them whimpering at its roots

In fast food America fast paced

life is In and Out - on the run

Coke is the real thing

iPhone bystanders video

police killing black men

because they can - because

no one will stop them

news media ravenous to feed

devours the vindicated evil

sensationalizing a peculiar brand of grief

In my world revolutionary refers

to Kitty Litter, Roach Sprays and Diapers

between nationally advertised Desire

and new and improved Joy we stroll fashionably

about in torn and faded jeans wooed

by android machines streaming sex and

video games to make our life seem real

grief comes vicariously

watching televised otters dig

at burning eyes crude oil spilled

during the commercial

In fast paced America we have a choice

reality TV, sit-coms or football

these are options to war torn embittered lives

instead worn torn jeans are prioritized

whether to requisite madness

for a victimized society

or drown our self perpetuated woes

in a magnum of hot tub bubbles

bitterly opining while our grief erodes

Thank God for the choice to become

more like Him to embrace His grace

To reject being useless human slaves

and return to our natural place

Of blissfully happy radiant beings

and shift - in time - to a more

homogenous paradigm - unfettered

To live our lives both loving and kind