I am overwhelmed.

Fatigued.

I feel hopeless.

In the face of the enormous complexity of our society.

The generations of humans.

Mothers.

Fathers.

Daughters.

Brothers.

Centuries of blood and death.

Greed.

Fear.

Self-interest.

Hypocrisy.

In defense of insatiable appetites.

Abandonment of empathy.

We turn away from the suffering of others.

The suffering of others whose skin is not like ours.

The suffering of others who simply seek a happier life.

For their families, and their grandchildren. For the future.

Grim reapers hide behind black masks.

I cry.

I cry for the erosion of a dream.

An imperfect dream.

But one that endeavored to protect the weak.

From the appetites of the tyrannous.

Perhaps it was just a dream all along.

But that’s how it begins, I think.

And that’s how it dies.

The digital has overtaken our world.

The world we touch, smell, see, and hear.

The quiet smile of a stranger.

The crisp whisper of leaves in the air.

The soft light and vast sky.

We do not experience the world’s touch any longer.

We only live through pixels of breathless speed and velocity.

I am overwhelmed.

I am exhausted.

Grief is a gray flower that blooms from within.

We must be kind.

We must cry our tears with one another.

We must share our gifts.

I hope it’s not too late.

But hope is inconsequential.

There’s nothing left.

But a soft kiss.

A tender embrace.

It’s all

that

remains.