It is so dark outside
In the middle of the day.
It isn't just the fog,
Which is dense,
But there is a feeling of foreboding,
As we careen into another year.

We are still at war,
Long after I thought that we would be.
It is not a question of patriotism,
But war is unsettling,
Even to the proudest of patriots.
Our enemy is no longer an insidious one.
Rather, he is a maniacal zealot,
Who is faithful not even to his own doctrine.
His principles have been shaped
By monsters,
Who in the name of worship,
Have forsaken even their own deity,
In favor of the darkest of emperors.

The world economy hangs by a string;
Witness dangerous upheaval,
That results from trivial events,
Publicized worldwide in the flash of a millisecond,
By cable networks eager to shock and awe.

Earthquakes precipitate killer waves,
And hundreds of thousands are dead.
I'm not sure how,
But man can now fall victim to avian organisms,
What's next in the way of a plague?
The winds may carry away everything,
All that you have accomplished,
And three generations before you,
Between breakfast and lunch.
And if that is not enough,
Watch for the rising water,
That has no discriminate conscience.

Hearken, all of you,
Playing video games,
Or at the bar,
And you,
Who see but ignore;
This message was given long ago,
To the readers of this day,
Choose your way and stand strong,
Do not falter, and never stray.
Now is the time foretold,
The ultimate battle of evil and good,
This is the day that you hoped to avoid,
But secretly,
You knew that you never would.