Parasitic Poison

Parasitic poison spills down from the top

infecting everything, infecting everyone.

There is no escape, no refuge, no safe harbor.

You, me, and others believe we are resistant,

immune, protected—a most dangerous belief.

The axioma of truth has been raped and broken;

these crimes against life and love become virtues.

Who would have imagined this second coming,

coming in this way, in this form, in this style?

Yeats, that’s who, who saw, who saw, who saw.

The beast slouching toward everywhere gives rise

to hope for some and despair for many and passionate

intensity among the worst. Yes, things are falling apart.

There is no center to hold. While awaiting the revelation

of the falcon or of something else not yet revealed

—look to dreams