When the murk of the darkness hovers and encloses you, you find yourself surrounded by airless, lightless, and devastatingly deceiving hope…

You once clung to hope like a security blanket, like a talisman, a false idol which you kneeled towards, believed the devil cared for you, while you would pray for all the false definitions of success…
(He sleeps in the same bed as deception – watch as the smoke glides upon the streets…)

I sit here – tears in my eyes…

When the pale death surrounds the neighborhoods of our youth and the end is coming in focus…
(An invisible poison spreading through touch and breath – the fog of a spirit which refuses to die)

We must, must be strong…

But it can be so hard…

We must, we must walk on…
(Check both sides of the street when you cross, take an Advil, drink water, kiss the stranger’s lips; what exactly is in that vial? smoke some weed to take the edge off – Do you ever ask what exactly is in those leaves?)

So alone in this world of locked downs and quarantines…just need to be seen, just need to be seen, Can you see me? Are you all right? I am here for you…

Remember the eyes which looked straight into your soul as if they knew you, understood you and could set you free? They cheated, those egomaniacs are the best actors; they lie as they stare into the cameras, laughing in the face of other people’s death…

You pray to your God for absolution for those sins that you cannot recall…
(You take the shots, it is one way to try and keep your light on and the music playing)
The others recoil and call on freedom until they cannot take a deep breath…

A summer morning, we watch as the sun came up and the day was fresh – people were outside, the streets were still damp as the sun reflected off of the asphalt, we put on sunglasses…We took it all for granted…
(Friends shaking hands, embraces, and the kissing of the stranger…)

When the murk of the darkness begins to settle around you…
(Breathe, breathe…)

As the sun begins to go down earlier and earlier – the invisible poison is once again spiriting through the streets – like a biblical plague…
(shortness of breath coming from the ones who were betrayed by the false gods they followed, like lemmings off a cliff)

Look deep into your soul…
Remember, when the sun had risen and the day was fresh…there were people outside, the streets were still damp and the sun reflected off of the asphalt which now is arid and empty, the cold air blows and there is no one in sight…

One day life will once again resume and promises of never taking it for granted will fall like those lemmings off of the cliff… Once again you will cast aside the truth and you will pray for all the false definitions of success…once again you will find yourself falling…