we are all deserters

by Roberto Lavidez

it was like

a dream

when you are

a little child

always full

of lively

chattering

and laughter

thoughts had

great trouble

merely becoming

spoken or

written words

the present

did not exist

and the future

was inconceivable

everyone was

walking around

unfiltrated by

the forms

of sense

exertions

produced only

a parody

of strength

there wasn’t

panic

there wasn’t

fear

there wasn’t

desperation

as songs

of birds

collided with

the cackle

of baboons

there was the

element of

the mystical

and the bizarre

in the

phenomena

of this world

of vain effort

and illusory

appearances

so now

you have to

wonder about

the role of

false memory

and delusion

we are

all deserters

all shams

more or less

throughout

our lives

everything

decays

wears out

dreadful

outcomes

seem to be

connected to

a warped idea

of divine justice

compatible

with the

mental disorder

of passionate

sorrow

if there is

nothing good

left in the

destiny of

a person

he or she

will die

as flames

danced

with the

afternoon

breeze

swaying  

as if

in agony

©robertolavidez2014