Poem on Syria: Putrefaction
of late
I’ve had this thought
that this country
has gone backwards
4 or 5 decades
and that all the
social advancement
the good feeling of
person toward
person
has been washed
away
and replaced by the same
old
bigotries
We have more than ever
the selfish wants of power
the disregard for the weak
the old
the impoverished
the helpless.
We are replacing want with war
salvation with slavery
we have wasted the gains
we have become rapidly
less
we have our Bomb
it is our fear
our damnation
and our
shame
now
something so sad
has hold of us
that
the breath
leaves
and we can’t even
cry
— Charles Bukowski, who rarely capitalized words.