BrokenEchoes

  We field commanders are due at to meet in one month’s time There is a summit to share news, wins and losses To form and adjust strategies I have little to report My small, distant land is poor Our warriors are weak or old or both We don’t have the helms, swords, or shields we need We don’t have the skills to craft them, or gold to buy them. These are strong loyal men Who will defend this land to their last breath But many have never held a weapon And none have been trained I myself am a cook I’m meant to feed men, not lead them I fell into this commander role  At the death of my predecessor I’ve been stumbling ever since I am the commander of these troops I put on a face of calm strength Of confidence and impending victory At the summit, I am the least of many The commander of a tiny remote territory Ignored or forgotten Along with my homeland Along with my people I am failing them I don’t have the skills or knowledge I need There is no one to pass this burden to We will los...

  A mountain, tall and strong Rises up between where I am now And where I need to be That is OK. I have climbed mountains before I’ll climb this one too I won’t be stopped I will get there from here I’ve come too far,  Crossed too many rivers, Survived too many battles, Endured too many miles To fail here I yearn to reach my destination For this long terrible journey to be complete I hope I don’t have to wait much longer.  

  I have lived this life before But I can’t remember enough to make a change My memories are unreliable and blurry Everyone I meet is vaguely familiar Each face evokes emotions of hidden remembrance Someone’s gait will spark subtle nostalgia Interactions sharpen my focus, but only slightly I recognize when my life approaches pivotal events It maddens me that I cannot recall the significance Or the sequence Thus every sorrow is twice-lived Every mistaken decision is repeated All my pains and miseries are doubled Because I have lived this life before But I can’t remember enough to make a change.

They nearly always appear friendly They walk straight and tall With no outward hint of the Small crooked creatures they truly are They come off as loyal But betrayal is with them always They seem to bring luck and comfort But cause painful, troublesome times Hear them if you must But do not listen Travel them if they can be a benefit But never trust them Deal with them with caution Do not let them sway you.

Life isn’t fair It never was Some people are born wealthy Some people are born where opportunity exists Some people are born with nothing And no hope for anything more It is bad out there for most people And good for very few Life isn’t fair It never will be But please…don’t make it worse.

  All there is now is wasteland With a few pockets of humanity Humanity may be too strong a word There are a few thousand of us left But I haven’t seen humanity in anyone Not for decades When most of us died, a lot died with us Compassion, empathy, warmth The air and water turned to poison Some had the means to build defenses Complex air filtration systems Self-contained water reclamation Domes went up over a few communities Soon the soil outside became toxic Nothing would grow outside the domes Those outsiders that didn’t die coughing blood Began to starve before long Those of us inside watched Let them die slow horrible deaths But the environment inside was fragile It could only support so many Could only feed so many Could only house so many To keep our community alive We had to leave our souls behind Now emotionless survivors are all that remain Now we are truly lost.

  They have put him in a humid room With white walls and uncomfortable chairs He is alone now, but that will change A new face will enter, and the questions will begin The questions won’t matter The answers won’t matter The words never matter in situations like these But they will develop a pattern between them Back and forth, to and fro, give and take, attack and parry They will smile as they chat There will be the illusion of trustworthiness And the pretence of trust But no one will be fooled In the end it will be an empty conversation In an empty room There will be no impact Everyone’s mind was made up already The decision firm before they entered the room This is what happens I have seen it unfold just this way Countless times in countless rooms I still can’t tell if they put on this show For each other, or for themselves.