Why bother
   If there's no reason to continue
Why bother
   When everything isn't as it seems
Why bother
   If she has already said no
Why bother
   When nothing has gone your way
Why bother
   If no matter what this is how it is
Why bother
   When everything crumbles
Why bother
   If you follow your heart
Why bother
   When you can't help it
Why bother
   If you fall in love
Why bother
   When it's already been done
Why bother
   With these thoughts
Because
   They were always in my head
I bothered
   Myself because they felt right

Doesn't it bother anyone else: that by simply participating in our current culture of mindless, resource exhaustive consumer capitalism, we're directly perpetuating a model of conduct that will eventually lead to the loss of our habitat, and the decline of our species; one whose remorseless self indulgence now guarantees a rise of global sea level up to 10 feet?

Doesn't it bother anyone else: that we live in a society run by people who we don't know, who don't care about us, but only their own short term gain, regardless of the negative impact that their actions may and often do have on entire generations of people, present and future?

Doesn't it bother anyone else: that our economy thrives on war, and has since the 1940's, that the total for defense contracts this year has been $253,802,074,353, and that 19% of our federal budget goes to defense, with a meager 1% funding education, that we have a president who calls our congress "ceremonial," wins the Nobel Peace Prize, and then unilaterally commits acts of international terrorism without breaking a sweat?

Doesn't it bother anyone else that we're on camera all the time, that our government spies on all of our communications 24/7 as well as those of other countries, or that people who reveal these injustices are shut up in prisons for life, tortured, or exiled?

Doesn't it bother anyone else that our police force is increasingly hostile to innocent people, that they carry AR-15 assault rifles to peaceful protests, and that they constantly abuse their power? I have never ONCE consented to search, but has that ever stopped them?

Doesn't it bother anyone else that our lives are essentially meaningless in the grander scheme of things, that we all dance like puppets, and jump through hoops like dogs, working at jobs we don't like for people we can't stand, to earn money that often barely supplants our basic needs?

Doesn't it bother anyone else?
Doesn't it bother anyone else?
DOESN'T IT BOTHER ANYONE ELSE?!?!?!?

My life is their yield
To succeed To fly
They want me to lead
What is their reason
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

They claim to save me
To stand by, a naive me
Foster me, back to baby
Is this love
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

Suspected next best thing
Better be in the running
Every thought, a new suffering
Where is the peace
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

So what if I fail
So what if I don't
So what if I leave it to chance unknown
Where is my joy
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

Love is spare
Hate is routine
Both consume, none is fair
Bring back apathy
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

People must love you
You better love them
Is it a contract
Where is the courtroom
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

Everyone is great
You told them it's true
What if you halt
Brace the varying views
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

Mock values
Forged reality
Blindly upheld
Where is curiosity
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

So far So good
By Hook or By crook
Substance is nothing
Success stories overcooked
I don't care
Don't bother, Don't despair

A common end, A common gain
All the talks, All the games
Best case scenario
It all goes to vain
I don't care
Don't bother, don't despair

Don't worry, I won't tell her about you.
Don't worry, her first word will always be "Mama".

Don't worry, I won't tell her about your deep love for strawberry milkshakes.
Though, she refuses to have milk in everything but strawberry shakes.

Don't worry, I won't bother telling her how good you were at volleyball,
I would tell her its a good sport to play.

Don't worry, I won't bother telling her science fictions are great,
I ask her to just give any of them from the shelf, a read.

Don't worry, I won't bother telling her that she can't bunk classes.
Because she is allowed to but, also read her textbooks later.
Though, she doesn't know how pridefully your attendance used to drop, then.

Don't worry, I won't bother not going to movies with her and yeah, she can choose them,
alternatively.

Don't worry,  I won't bother her to grow up.
She can always have brownies and chocolate ice cream in the middle of the night.
Though, she doesn't know how you used to be lectured for doing the same.

Don't worry, I won't bother asking her to learn singing,
she loves  Jazz dancing.
Though you never stopped moving your feet, to those Irish beats.

Don't worry, I won't bother saying how blowing bubbles and balloons were your favorite pass time.
It's her 16th birthday and all she wants is the party hall to be crowded with red and white balloons.

Don't worry, I won't bother telling her that black is the color.
I tell her that she can always wear black to dates and sometimes, they work out really well.

Don't worry, I won't bother asking her to give me a call
every once in a while.
Because she loves writing letters and mailing them to me.
Little does she know, about your handwritten notes that still hold a place in my diary.

Don't worry, I won't question her choices.
But, will for sure forbid her from falling for a man like you,  
who will soon fall for someone new.

Oh did I forget to tell you, she writes too.

(This poem can be sung to the tune of the traditional Scottish folk song "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean.")

D.T.:
“Oh, I have no problem with war crimes,
Though some people might disagree.
That anything goes is my doctrine.
No, war crimes do not bother me.

(Chorus)
“War crimes, war crimes,
Oh, war crimes do not bother me, not me.
War crimes, war crimes,
No, war crimes do not bother me.

“Some people frown upon torture.
They think it's cruel and perverse.
But I think that it can be useful.
Restrictive rules are such a curse.

“War crimes, war crimes,
Oh, war crimes do not bother me, not me.
War crimes, war crimes,
No, war crimes do not bother me.

“Terrorists are a big nuisance.
But one way to spoil their plots
Is to go after their loved ones.
Then they might have second thoughts.

“War crimes, war crimes,
Oh, war crimes do not bother me, not me.
War crimes, war crimes,
No, war crimes do not bother me.

“Soldiers out there who've committed
War crimes are heroes, you see.
I'll gladly give them a pardon
‘Cause war crimes do not bother me.

“War crimes, war crimes,
Oh, war crimes do not bother me, not me.
War crimes, war crimes,
No, war crimes do not bother me.

“To leaders who rule other countries,
Listen to me, for I swear
I'll bomb your cultural centers.
Let ALL the world's nations beware.

“War crimes, war crimes,
Oh, war crimes do not bother me, not me.
War crimes, war crimes,
No, war crimes do not bother me.”

-by Bob B (1-8-20)

Why bother?
Talking to me
Encouraging me
Pretending to care
Why do you bother?

Why bother?
I'm gone anyway
I know no one cares
I haven't got delusions
So why do you bother?

Why bother?
With me in general?
No one else cares,
So why do you?

Why bother?

Don't bother leaving the light on,
I am not planning on staying here
Don't bother leaving the door open,
I am not planning on comming back anyway
Don't even bother to ask,
for the answer is clear,
I don't wanna stay here
Don't bother to wait for me,
as I won't come,
I won't follow anymore
No more steps I will take
So don't bother to wait
Don't bother leaving the lights on
That would be such a waste

i’m not another ****** card for your deck
and bothering and trying is just
         another leap off a possible cliff except you have a blindfold around your eyes
you may not know this
but its cutting into your skin
and the drops in mood seem steeper each time i return to this rabbit hole, just before it gets too dark

is it really worth trying so ******* a continuous basis when your wings have been clipped ages ago



why do we even bother
      then again why am i speaking on behalf of you?
         why do i even bother
             it’s always thunderstorms and rain with an occasional glimpse of sunshine that seems to be a welcoming party for the hurricane
                   to think that i manage to mask my emotions so well i’m nearly fooled into thinking the same frightens me a bit
take for granted to an extent i’ve become indifferent despite the fact it’s still behind my eyes

close to malfunctioning but i can’t get it out of my system
it’s like grasping sand in your palms and all you can do is observe as each grain slips from between your fingers - a great descent
it’s just the reoccurring feel of never being good enough i do suppose
  whatever y’know