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Wither Grass Roots

Where has it gone, that endless plain,
between our boundless oceans?

Where are they now, who used to speak plain,
with minds awash in reason?

What is this season, not winter, summer,
or spring, but we keep falling down?

What have we done, we forever young,
with America’s yawning dawn?

Awash in pollution, spent coal, oil, and gas,
broken climate keeps smacking us down.

What have we done, we forever young,
with America’s gaping dawn?

We put away books, and their eons of truth,
to stare into the palms of our hands.

We no longer read, but we watch and we listen
as Liberty leaks down the drain.

That’s what we’ve done, the formerly young,
with minds born for truth and for reason,

We put down our books, we opt-in to plans,
we rally for felons, we tolerate treason,

We celebrate flesh tone, cheer bespoke gender,
we take to the quad, we clog the streets,

To root for one’s foe and cheer another’s enemy,
since abandoning reason, we’d rather fight than switch on

The lights of reason and truth. War is so good for jobs
that it pleases our alien, foreign, and illegal gods.

Dave Read

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