The apocalypse becomes you

Today , is not the time of “The Wilderness “ that Carl Sandburg spoke of ; the natural animal remnant inside of us all -

It is the dark overlord of our unconscious / subdued in the interest of compassion

& empathy / having gained its release &

this former flower child / now, sees the error of his ways -

My arrogant neglect of my child-like faith ; my certainty of outcome,

Was the door I left open -

For the wilderness to reclaim its dominion ,

Because

The wilderness / had always been waiting ,

Even in the springtime of my optimism,

The wilderness- the ungovernable anger

Of ignorance & mindless resentment / which only sees its relief

In retribution-

It was out there, pawing at the ground ;

Dragging chairs across the new linoleum,

In the lobby / slamming doors,

impatient to gain access to our collective dream

Which believes in healing

And believes in love -

Well, it wanted IN / to where the dream was resting,

& rip out all its stitches, because

It was already inflamed-

& it made no secret of its intention -

Someone has to suffer / for the indignity / of having to reflect on its own sins

The albatross of our human frailty / the Wilderness sees

As our condemnation / and it will not extend a hand in friendship

To those who fall behind- Instead , we took the systems created & available to

All of us / to alter our fates

And just force-fed it / another dumb beast to do its bidding

The wilderness does not cherish you for this gesture of solidarity-

We are just more bodies to add to the meat & bone column of human misery

The beast now perches on / proclaiming its victory /as if it were yours

As if its golden toilet / wasnt flushing its waste / directly into your water supply-

If I may - I - the disgraced & pathetic flower child you see before you today ,

Declare that you are all now / the inheritors of this new exploited earth -

As passed through the bowels of our elected rulers / and doled out

As our victory meal / where we were promised a seat at the right hand of our fathers/

Instead of by the back door / eating shit and being chastised for not sending our gratitude to the chef -

If you will excuse me -

I have had my fill of the fox-news imbecile child / defiling my hopes & dreams

I will open my door / to the wanderers & the lost -

I cannot look away anymore-

The wilderness insists that I

let him & his whores / have their run of the bunker

As is how its been / all through history

But also

within easy reach -

a gallon of gas & a gun-

The dictators palate cleansers

They’ll know what to do