A Dark View of Neverland
by Michael Doyle

What kind of world is this
With a closing of our eyes, we miss
The changes are approaching lunacy
As conspiracy moves shadow into reality

The monkeys now run the big top
And unneeded changes won't stop
Childhood heroes from stories and fantasy
Have rolled over for a whole new misogyny

When men compete with women they'll never be
I'll always tell the truth without apology
Lost boys have taken over this Turtle Island
And the barely breathing have grabbed command

With a clap of hands and pixie dust
I seek an escape pod that I can trust
Because I believe what my lying eyes have seen
Wisely knowing that billionaires are only human beings

Most of whom have stomped on other people's dreams
While dressing it up as pixelated moonbeams
The pirate's lagoon knows the constant tick-tock
And the crooked smile of a vengeful croc

Somehow, we are caught up without any steady rules
Putting aside wisdom for the street talk of fools
No love but lust as we're making our own sort of way
Forgetting all fabled wisdom as if it belonged in yesterday

Was it a tired illusion and little to nothing more?
Who needs anything but the permission to explore?
There's nothing to bind us as sisters and brothers
Like children never growing up but set against each other

The talk on the streets demeans this as only an experiment
While some of us push back without any ill intent
I hope that others might remember the path toward maturity
It's so seldom seen in this new'ish quarter of a century

Haiku has turned into some sense of living Tinkerbell
Short in the suite of significance needed to prevail
It's better to build lands of ingrained imagination
Than to deconstruct the true wealth of this nation

Love and hope are genuinely our only living treasure
These are prescriptions to live by with good measure
As we hold on tight to fading star dust and jaded dreams
These are the unspoiled gifts left for humans busy being

(c) September 8, 2023   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved