An evil wind blows through the conscience of the tormented
and the forsaken angels of compromise hang aimless in their hurried flight.
Sincere voices rise above the din of adolescence
but are overtaken by the shrills of mediocrity and despair.
Harbingers of doubt pervade the houses of the holy
as smoke-filled pockets of circumstance dance around the truth.

Martyrs walk the streets eager to find a cross to hang themselves upon
but they stumble on the apologetic path of liberty.
Weary messengers strap their sins upon their shoulders
and drown in the shallow waters of futility.
Coffee houses are consumed by lonely-hearted refugees
where the junkies of the caffeine and the peddlers of the nicotine
join hands in the carnival of sound.

In the sacrifice of solitude,
women tempt men with perfumed whispers of promises
that disappear into the gentle night air.
As the morning rises over the energy of sleepy-eyed misfits,
purpose of inactivity compromises the ambitions of proprietary needs.
Incomes are distributed through the empty pockets of humility
and filter through the cracks of impulse purchases and bright neon dreams.
Golden-voiced merchants sing their songs of longing
until the melody pierces the cloud of Judgment.

Through a thin veil of happiness
T.V talking personalities persuade the public
to peruse their offerings of servitude and grace.
Puffs of perception linger in the air
and silence takes a drag out of the blood of simplicity.
Impure variations of mathematical equations
formulate in the minds of the scavengers of the soul.
Poets place their truth upon the pages
with words that aim to please.

Honesty is scribbled on the city walls
in a language that can't be understood.
The eyes of a nation have been blinded by deception
with the sounds that echo the muffled strings of pain.
Babies are born behind the curtains of hope
and the light that flickers in their innocent eyes
finds an opening in the souls of tomorrow.