Fireblossom has given us a new challenge over at Real Toads. The task was to reflect on simpler times (and use one of the images–I chose the second).
Eye of newt; must add wing of bat;
Damn! They’re endangered–
Well then, substitute a handful
of seed from the bull thistle;
Damn government! They’re banned–
but I need a noxious weed.
Oh for the good ol’ days when
we could exploit the fat of the land
and cast spells and curse our neighbors
without fear of being politically incorrect.
A pox went unnoticed; the gout easily believed.
Now science uncovers the homicide.
Human rights! Animal rights! The environment!
People are destroying the world without
gun laws and safety recalls
and reducing gigantic carbon footprints.
We must protect our overpopulated selves,
killing each other faster than we used to.
Nightly news filled with horrific
bad tidings and tragic human loss.
Anyone who dies less than a healthy
centenarian was stolen too soon!
Diseases must be stopped in their tracks;
we can’t have any sick people dying.
Keep us safely locked in glass cages–
No! Glass breaks!
Sharp shards to slit our bored wrists
as we escape from the safety
of a legislated and deathless world.
Ah. Give me the good old days!
Dang! This drips with finely condensed acid for maximum sting. Sharply written.
I had to give up most of the nightly news to save my inner peace. You have named all the topics that worry me greatly. Well expressed.
Very sarcastic and sharp, Teresa. It’s hard to look at the world around us these days and NOT feel cursed,not wish for something else, something that possibly never even was.
Nothing like the bad old good old days! (Or is that the other way around?) What is it, to remain a witch in an exorcised world? Keep stirring the pot, keep singing!
I think that’s exactly what she would say!
Alas, the good old days might have been worse… save the newts I say. 🙂