When the people grow up chasing endless empty fads

when the citizens have no safe places that they have always known

because all is in the chaos of cheap construction and hourly work migration

they should grow skittish and uneasy

like caribou forced to migrate past packs of hungry wolves

when the people worship only what is new

the children try to invent an entire culture of their own

and then quickly they grow old and confused

and are discarded with a strange distaste for themselves

when the people do not honor the food that they eat

animals live like prisoners and die stripped of their grace

the land is violated by many forms of dirty runoff

yet some still yearn for the simple lilt of missing songbirds

when the country gulps from plastic that it quickly throws to the ground

and its commercials require more thought than its entertainment

its strength is diminished and its future in doubt

yet it is not painful to those dancing hypnotized in a dull throng

when corporate agribusiness controls the food supply

and stock prices guide the stewardship of our sustaining land

the future appears both raggedly hungry and quite filthy to the disaffected

when developers create communities and give them idyllic names

and create streets meant to recall other times

those who are not team players may mournfully intone that

what is no more, and cannot return, will always be the better

when it is cheaper to bulldoze rich farmland for new cheap strip malls

than it is to re-develop shoddily-built and decaying storefronts

some people see the true wisdom

of the invisible hand of capitalism stroking the sacred free marketplace

when home owners speculate on gains from their properties

making improvements only to appeal to prospective buyers

and to enhance their curb appeal

others see the true meaning of our Traditional Family Values shining thru

when the winning candidates always spend more than their rivals

in campaigns all run by sloganizing puppeteers

and corporate sponsors quickly recoup their election investments

people revel in the spiritual experience of the democratic process

when a man is ashamed that his car is too old

and women routinely throw out clothes that they have never worn

consumption remains high enough to support the holy economy

and advertisers have won a great victory for leveraged consumerism

when an honest workman feels that he must be a loser

and is ashamed of his good craft

his country has abandoned purpose and reason

and the image makers have falsely robbed him of his dignity

when the people grow up chasing endless empty fads

ignoring all else as passé or unimportant

it is with a cold and faceless impartiality that

they, too, very quickly pass out of style as well

when the old are disgusted with what the world has become

and are simply glad that time has, at last, passed them by

the young come of age full of unrelated images, each only half-digested

their brains an unsorted compost heap of mass entertainment

when the people do not know what to do with their elders

and they are laid aside and asked to pay to be kept out of sight

when no one knows what these citizens are living for

the society which asks this question can have no decent answer

when expensive dogs are purchased from puppy mills as status symbols

but left out alone in empty fenced yards

before, very soon, to be sent away forever more

children learn the value of commitment and companionship

when the angry young man, once so widely admired,

morphs pathetically into a bitter and tired old fool

his impotent rage becomes boring repetition

and he is quite easily left behind and quickly forgotten

when the people burn bright lights outside their homes

throughout every night of each year

and more is spent on security systems than for reading material

the children grow up coping with implants of ignorance and paranoia

when grown men spend good money having pickup trucks make more noise

though they are too big to park and have no place for groceries

little boys learn what is important though father's never home

growing up tough as nails and dumber than the dirt

when mothers spend their time in knots of vicious gossip

merely aping empty fashion trends

and pursuing shopping as an extreme avocation

no one need wonder why girls do poorly in science and math

when anger, revenge and greed provide the best in workplace motivation

even though the silly mantra of political correctness is regularly invoked

how easy can it be then, once at home with the family

to lay it all aside and be gentle and just, kind, calm and loving

when senior officials, hip-hoppers, movie stars and athletes

turn up their noses at education, science and normal work

while violence, ignorance and crime are portrayed as part of ordinary life

why are we surprised when first offenders cannot read, write or add

when our parents wind up languishing in their own smelly wastes

in institutions staffed by tired drop-outs and illegal immigrants

shortly to be preyed upon by a conglomerated funeral ‘industry’

who would argue that our own lives are not, thereby, greatly diminished

when the most important of all the many government spending items

is how much we can spend on killing other people

while whipping up the public against enemies in the shadows

it becomes clear that the business of war shall prosper, forever more

when the incumbent promises things he could already have delivered

many poorer citizens may still trust him if he seems to be nice,

and spends good money on family images with soothing voices and safe music

while touting moral values but favoring the rich and the incorporated donors

when intelligent people read only pre-digested spin from a for-profit press

it is easier to maintain the consistency and rhythm of the message,

thereby ensuring that the rational will not panic, bolt and run,

while establishing by repetition what seems false upon first impression

when elections are brought to you by corporations to reach financial goals,

none of which include family values or environmental nonsense

and slick firms launch expensive campaigns designed to spin the candidates

who would be surprised if voters are treated as simple target markets

when the credit cards are all maxed out and the houses aren’t worth their loans

and once-cheap imports and outsourced skills are simply unaffordable

when all the strip malls are complete and the entire ecosystem shattered

the people can still sit inside gasless SUVs, communing with their personal saviors