The Center Must Fold

Conventional wisdom has led us astray,
That empty habit of wishing away.
The eyes of the evil are staring us down,
And at their behest the world will drown.
And as we advance toward this fate unknown,
We’re growing to feel forever alone.
But there always remains a decision to make,
And time-honored maxims for us to break.
So allow me to offer an idea so bold,
At this late date the center must fold.

“Surely you jest,” detractors will state,
Obsessed with civility in the face of hate.
“Well that’s too extreme,” the privileged proclaim,
From positions removed from a world aflame.
Some may decry “you’re just divisive!”
Never to offer a thought more incisive.
Say what you must about my attitude,
But know that I offer more than just platitude.
So perhaps reconsider things we are told,
And ponder the notion the center must fold.

A polite reminder for the indifferent and secure,
Your inaction is more than most can endure.
For each of us blessed with lives of stability,
Countless more live in constant fragility.
A strain of ruthlessness pervading society,
Mixed with catastrophes of manmade variety.
As the makers of atrocity endure unresisted,
Consider the multitudes who mindlessly assisted.
So again I suggest we recast of the mold,
Before we advance, the center must fold.

Here we consider our first decision,
We stay the course without further revision.
Desperation accelerates beyond repair,
And billions of souls will succumb in despair.
Seas will boil and land will smolder,
Deaf to the cries of every last shareholder.
Our only lasting, grand distinction:
A finely crafted mass extinction.
Should such visions turn your blood cold,
You’ll then understand the center must fold.
And so we must forge an an alternate path,
A journey to lead us from our own wrath.
An ambitious endeavor not without pain,
But one worth taking to end havoc’s reign.
So no longer shall riches be life’s meaning,
Nor modern subsistence be so demeaning.
Hostility discarded with horror it creates,
Resist the urging of empire’s mandates.
Extend compassion to those under chemical spells,
Rather than casting them in concrete cells.
Scrap all the laws that enrich those in power,
Demand our respect until they all cower.
And still humanity may be imminently finished,
Unless skies and seas are cleansed and replenished.
Should these words inspire and excite you,
Allow me to humbly and eagerly invite you.
For survival is not gained by toiling in seclusion,
But power is increased through concerted transfusion.
And if you consider me a pigheaded scold,
Reality still asserts, “the center must fold.”