And all the joy within you
(If any you could find) is
Flattened to nothingness
The doom impending your mind

But you explain (they do not listen)
All the joy you feel is just
Crushed before it gets a chance
For memories that fade too fast

If any you could feel at all
You know they will be thieved
And all the joy within you will be
Squeezed before you leave

When you report this robbery
And no one has a clue
They blithely point out "ought to bes"
All the joy they claim in you

And all the joy within you
(If any you could find) is
Flattened by the nothingness
Of the doom impending your mind

All the joy

10/31/24