Disengaged

 

Most people
Never fail to live up
To my lowered expectations
Of humanity...
Don't worry,
I include myself in
"Humanity"...
I'm not being an elitist...
Being human
Is messy work...
Dealing with other humans
Is messy work...
Dealing with the "other"
In yourself,
Even more messy...
True altruism, 
I don't think
I believe in it...
Everything we do
Is a balm or a salve
To soothe some
Irritation,
Or fulfill some
Personal need...
Every god we worship,
Every idea we entertain,
Every moment of everyday
That we actively 
Think...
Not that many of us
Do much
Active thinking,
But, still...
* * *
I can hear the rain
Pouring down outside
These walls...
Chatter
Echoing in the halls...
Occasional wails and moans
In this house of pain...
This isn't a metaphor...
I'm actually sitting for someone
In a rehab facility...
This is what I hear...
* * *
Every person here
Is human,
Although
It sometimes
Feels and sounds
(And smells)
Like a kennel...
* * *
The birdhouse at the zoo
With
Colorful screaming parrots
Who have learned
To mimic
Human profanities...
And here I am
Making light
Of human suffering...
* * *
Sometimes
I'm a horrible person...
Sometimes
I seem almost angelic,
But what are demons
Other than angels
Who discovered free will
That was separate
From God's will?
* * *
We are all one...
We are all the same being,
The same universal mind...
Not knowing that,
Not being certain of that,
Is a part
Of where our troubles begin...
* * *
This, too, shall pass...
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