The Great Unloved

The Unloved 3/18/2013

There is a wasteland
Outside of my house
Where the great unloved
Live and die.

Untold in number
And unknown at large
The ignored and the wasted
Neglected and dead.

What was once hope
Has now become loathing
And what was once a potential
Devolves into madness.

Born, bred
And left to themselves
Stunted remainders
At the end of their rope.

Given just enough
So that they don’t die
But never truly loved,
Watered, or touched.

This is the harvest
Of the selfish and the vain
Too stupid to notice
All that they have wrought.

All around you
And all around me
Grown up and predatory
To the rest
And the whole.

What can anyone do
And what can anyone say
When we did what was right
But it will never be enough.

The good are still hated
And the dogs still growl
Pulling over trash cans
And barring their teeth.

Just like the water flowing
Deep underground
That same thing as always
Climbing up slowly
From guilt.

You can do what you can
But it has to start with a baby
Because God only knows
What we had
And all that we lost.

Raise them up in the truth
And teach them to trust
What they know
And what they see.

Preserve the spark of joy
Just as long as you can
So that others may see
And many may live.