I’m reminded of Dorian Grey
A self hatred understood on a profound
And philosophical level
Tired but still alive
Rich but soured by the arbitrary nature of
Paper with numbers written on it
And the distinct shortage of it
Handed out by men with ties
To men without
Like laws
Health care for people who deserve it
Pain killers
Suppressants
This is the language of a people who
Want to die
It’s okay though
We’ll write thousands of laws in stone
And say that only ten of them are important
We’ll tell ourselves that we’re all different
And special
But we all need to be the same to get along
Because we’re all equal by virtue of being alive
Except you – you’re poor
And you – you’re new and unwelcome to this country
And you – you’re homosexual
And you – you’re too young
And you – you’re too old
And you – you’re sick
And you – you’re born disabled
So get in line and march
And sway coldly to the rhythm of seven billion steps
In unison
And be pacified by the voice over the loud speaker
Shop at Wal Mart
Wear Gap
Don’t complain
Play nice
Buy more
Care less
Your vote has a voice
A muted, broken voice that says which of the elite decides your future
Your freedom earned on a beach seventy years ago
Is now just black and white flickers you ignore to watch barbies and kens dying in Jersey
Worshiping in an orgy of sex, drugs, and booze
The golden calf
And we stand on the fringe smashing the tablets
Mourning the death of man