Tumbling Into Nothing (Poetry)

There is a dearth of kindness in the modern world today —
like goodness — the old fashioned sort — has slowly drained away
and left behind a brittle smile — a shallow too-bright grin
that’s confident we’ll — one and all — be surely taken in
by each false promise offered us — the glib too-easy word
repeated — meaning nothing — and barely even heard.

Such platitudes trip easily — the thin-edged gilded lie
made pleasant just to fool the eager ear and anxious eye
watching for the painted mask to peel — the inching crack
that gives away the truth — reveals the ever-growing lack
of real compassion — those last dregs of human empathy
the echoes of a dying — once instinctive — sympathy.

It’s all pretence — this desperate thrown-together cheap façade
life’s frequently unfair and cruel — unbearable and hard
and help is often fickle — rarely matched to real need
while poor administration scorns the kind impulsive deed
that doesn’t tick their tiny box —for no one really cares
that the realization shocks us — we’re all caught unawares...

When suddenly we’re on own own — the safety net we dreamed
would catch us if we fell now proves nothing like it seemed
the air is empty as the trick — just mirrors and grey smoke
we tumble into nothing and see through God’s awful joke —
some robot with a name tag ultimately gave
the order to write millions off — and we weren’t flagged to save.