Ballade of Things to Come

Aghast for years, it's hard to stay alert,
To find the fortitude the times require.
The fluffy clouds of hope get tinged with dirt,
Become disheveled, call for baling wire
And constant supervision. How I tire
Of gnashing all my teeth, of clenching eyes,
Of shaking heads and long, bewildered sighs.
Perhaps I'll sit for once and fold my arms—
Except instead of current, loathsome lies,
A rainbow future beckons, full of charms.

The world, disturbed, unbalanced, won't convert
Destructive, ancient ways unless desire
Engulfs the people, change a needed spurt
That grows and flowers, spreads its scented gyre.
I tell myself, but smoke and raging fire
Have proved effective. Still, it terrifies.
The countless degradations dramatize
Exactly why, with harms begetting harms,
My vision blurs. I focus toward the prize:
A rainbow future beckons, full of charms.

I won't abandon duty, won't desert
Ideas taught by those I so admire,
Examples warm as any flannel shirt
Observed at home to which I still aspire.
I'll sound a weary trumpet, plunk a lyre,
Revive my humor, put aside my cries,
And force my soggy bones and brain to rise.
Unknown, unheard from city blocks to farms,
I sling my words to comfort, chide, advise:
A rainbow future beckons, full of charms.

Reality, that saucy minx, denies
I've any right and calls attempts unwise.
Remaining silent circumvents alarms,
And yet? I write, proclaim, apologize:
A rainbow future beckons, full of charms.

Comments

[Trick Question]

*shows age by using lighter for encore instead of phone flashlight*

[Super Trampoline]

You got this augie!

[Lurks-no-More]

*applause*

[AugieDog]

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Thanks, folks!

Mike