Emancipation of the Greeting Card

The world is meaningless.
There is no God or gods, 
Only hope and carnival mirrors
Surgically stapled onto our chests
And onto the heavens.
There are no morals, 
Only remnants of herd mentalities
“Kill one to save 1,000”
How we forget ourselves. 
Out there,
Is the only direction the universe is moving. 
Not inexorably toward a higher purpose
So ignore its red-shift tendencies, or study them. 
All meaning is man-made so make your own 
And make it well.
Write amateur poetry
About tea kettles and flowers in concrete
With greeting card saccharine. 
But mean it, just..
Do not treat life as a way to pass the time until you die. 
The concept of “You” Is nonexistent,                          
Therefore you cannot find yourself.
Do not try to "find yourself."
You must make yourself,
Out of chromosomes and play dough
And Beethoven and cell phones
And one too many pizza crusts,
But that’s just me. 
Choose what you want to find meaningful
And live, create, love, hate, cry,
Destroy, fight, f**k and dream for it.
Do not break the mold. 
The mold is no place
For life and values and actions,
Unless of course you created the mold yourself,
In which case rip it,
Like sheet plastic and tissue paper
And say with conviction: 
"This is who I make myself?"
Do not give in to hope,
There is no fire to carry,
Remember that nothing
You do has any significance
Beyond that with which you imbue it.
Whatever you do, do it for its own sake. 
When the universe looks on with indifference, 
Laugh, and shout back:
"F**k You!"
Remember that to fight meaninglessness is futile, 
But fight anyway, 
In spite of and because of its futility.
The world may be empty of meaning, 
But it is a blank canvas on which to paint meanings of your own. 
Live deliberately. 
And be free.

                Or Don't.