Tsunami

Tsunami             7/6/2015

The clouds parted
And the sun burned my skin

Blazing downwards

And shattered upon the waves.

The boat churned the water

And the bow bounced up and down

Skimming the waves

In a white and frothy wake. 

The engines slowed

And it was then, that I remembered

The smell of sunscreen,

Lake water, and gasoline

Under the bridge,

And long passed by. 

We escaped on the water

And for a brief moment

There was laughter

And joy. 

But like all things glorious

They are as brilliant

As they are short

And we returned to earth

With sand in our teeth.

Today the world is smaller

And I can barely remember the songs

The ones my father sang

Laughing at the wheel.   

Evil has erupted

And it grows from the inside out

Corrupting everything

And infecting everyone. 

Wedging in the smallest crack

And expanding against the sides

Cracking us like an eggshell

Until we all fall apart.

Are you still sleeping?

Or are you awake?

Because now more than ever

We had better hear the call.

With time and distance

The voice grows faint

Until it becomes

Nothing more than a whisper

In the back of our brain. 

But, you know it when you hear it

And you know it when you feel it

The horrible creeping fear

That you chose the wrong solution

And now it’s too fucking late. 

We ran from reality

For as long as we could

But no one can escape

The consequence

That hits like a tsunami. 

Struck from behind

Or cut through the middle

We stagger in a circle

And cry out in vain. 

It is the old truth

The one that we forgot

Covered up with cat litter

And obfuscated with lies. 

We can call good evil

And  we can trade light for darkness

But no one can escape the flood

Carrying us all away. 

The locusts come

And the foundations crack

As all the blessings, others won

Are consumed in an hour. 

The deck is stacked

And only a fool can pretend

That we are not the hated

Or the hunted. 

The truth will come out

No matter how hard they try

Every day and everywhere

Touching you

And touching me.   

Whatever we do now

We will live with forever

As the innocent rise

Even if murdered

And even if maligned. 

So go ahead and listen

As the music keeps playing 

Knee deep in water

Smug, dead, and dumb.