What these tired eyes see

weary and withered
these tired eyes, tied to the past
try to understand the present
and foresee the future
but smoke and dust keep whirling in the way
not letting them see

blink once
everything's aged and dazed
blink twice
The whole universe has changed.

tight, tight cliques of girls and boys
they have their way, every day.
though at first they're friends forever
They fight, and break, and start to stray
Into the dark
Into crime

Guns, drugs, alcohol and lust
takes over the world, taking away
What is good and what simply must
be maintained every day
And it all washes into
the city sewers

When the changes change is when
We either climb up, or fall deeper
and there's nothing this rhyme, this pen
can do--to help us climb the steeper
cliff. and yet
I continue, writing about
what these tired eyes see
in a world of smoke, and dust, and desperation.