When at three a.m
the witching hour brings comfort
as even monsters must find time to rest
when the daylight brings anxious news
and old mangled memories resurface
Holocaust, Warsaw, Ukraine, internment
aren’t cautionary tales anymore
Freedom, liberty, rights, justice
are mere fragments of what they used to be
But this one did this, and that one said that
bad begets bad begets justification for wrong
and murmurs of revolt and resistance and fighting
civil war – not as a historical reference – begins to churn in our daily speech
Seal the borders, close the door, lock all your possessions inside
burn the mosque, chase the bandit, handcuff a child who left fear to find fear in our eyes
chase the shadow, chase your neighbor, run from those who mean to do you harm
who is this person, what is that danger, should I say goodbye to the world as I know it?
What is this you ask? what place are we now? What room have we entered into?
Not something new, but the end of an age, something bleak and troublesome
for those who know the hardship of life
Just like Henley used to sing. In days of summers long passed
This is the end.
This is the end.
This is the end of the innocence.
We are, all of us, guilty now