The question springs to mind
is today the time to take my life?
look to the certain, it will arrive
the tick-tocks drifts on by

this surety comes with dread
that outcome none should indulge
even if this fated path
is the one that’s close to mind

anger feeds the fixed focus
co-conspirator with stalking fear
with no escape but to flee
into routes that are one-way

that plan kept in close reserve
safety chute with crossbones doors
don’t let the icon spoil the mood
the smile is there to reassure

no flowers last from kind delights
another waits to sprout instead
that poison seed in dank earth
blooming where the other fails

caring is the saddest jest
illusion smiling without hope
the curtain hiding nothing more
than the ugliness of mankind

the certitude is always there
remedy near at hand
if only life could be pursued
with the promise death ensures.

© 2018. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20180910.