LAURA KARNIVA

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I'm overwhelmed by it all;

The corruption of today,

The drunken dance of tomorrow.

I saw verdurous life grow through the grey,

I saw birds flock on evening’s tree,

But the worms cannot crawl above to die,

When there’s no soil here to drum,

And silver rain cannot wash our tears,

Nor our fears we pray to overcome.

 

I’m overwhelmed by it all;

The crooked necks of children,

The infinite rows of the graveyard.

I heard wisdom crumble like decaying teeth,

I heard reason spoke on dying lips,

But the eye of the soul is turned awry,

From the landscape bare but a single stone;

God’s rejectamenta,

A child had thrown.

 

I’m overwhelmed by it all,

The fields appear much smaller,

The streets appear so narrow.

I felt cobwebs break across my face,

I felt my self love turn to hate.

I inveigle myself, pity the fool,

Can I find sanity in my vanity?

Or is this woolen heart upon barbed wire,

   The frayed presence of normality?

 

I thought I was so overwhelmed by it all;

The world and I, falling apart,

Every woodland has a fence,

Every tree is marked.

But I realise now,

In reason’s wake,

I was never overwhelmed at all;

By this grandiose lie to help us sleep,

Under mankind’s moonless downfall.

 

I’m underwhelmed by it all.