Both Sides Now

The newscasters shriek that the world is ending

before the day has even started.

So many are so used to being yelled at

that they are afraid to talk anymore.

In Hong Kong, they riot, and China

squashes them down.

In Syria, the death of children

is nothing of note.

The forests burn, the waters rise, the landfills

fill, and disease resists our medicine.

And yet

We sing Christmas carols at nursing homes

and bleary eyes crinkle at the edges.

We smile at strangers, knowing we

will get nothing in return.

We fall in love, an endlessly hopeful

dance of millenia.

We recognize problems we've ignored

for years and promise to do better.

We take an interest, even if just to

pursue our own picture of the perfect world.

The world deteriorates

as humanity improves.