I
may not be old,
but I have lived long,
nonetheless,
and seen much of the
abnormal in this world.
I
have seen how decent folk can turn into virtual cannibals.
I
have seen how respect for the most basic of human values can turn into nothing.
I
have seen how love can turn into irrelevance,
hate into pacts,
and
belonging to dust.
All in all, I have seen much of this world.
Perhaps a bit too much.
I
have seen enough, it seems, to be lost.
Lost.
Perhaps beyond any hope of retrieval,
beyond any hope of retracing my steps
down to the point where
some of
this, at least,
might have made,
sometimes,
some sense.
April 18, 1997