what he died for (poem version)

reworking my short story "what he died for" into a poem.

under the streetlights of a midnight metropolis,
i cast no shadow.
i’m invisible--
a memory of a dream of an idea.

 

i walk from street corner to street corner

as a phantom,

taking in the neon signs,

the clever department store ads.

the skyscrapers.

the mega-malls...

so much has changed.

 

i pass strip clubs and adult movie theaters.

whorehouses cleverly disguised as day spas.

palaces of infidelity.

 

in weathered apartments

and tattered households everywhere,

people drop my name,

but nobody knows my face.

billboards quote things i’d never say.

books tell the masses

my love for them is something that’s earned,

rather than something that’s unconditional.

 

everywhere i look,

i see the ruined families,

the carnal lust--

the unraveling of morality,

one thread at a time.

 

this decaying world...

is this what i died for?

Author's Note

I was reading my story "What He Died For" and thought it would sound just as good as a poem... here it is, untouched except for a couple punctuation changes.

Reviews

[TheDrylands]

Well written with some vivid imagery. My favorite stanza is:

"books tell the masses
my love for them is something that's earned,
rather than something that's unconditional."

I think as the reader, this was the most surprising piece in the poem, and I was hoping to hear a little more/experience the twist this line implies.

Good writing.

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

humanity is dying to its own applause~ this is a striking journey inside the saviour mind~ what a disappointment mankind must be . . . .

[Blue Moon Ice Cream]

I feel like I say this in every review, but I really loved this. It's definitely my favorite poem of yours I've read. It states a sad but true fact about most of society.