Naked As We Came

I walk the broken asphalt streets of a once proud city Where proud monuments still stand tall and sturdy Built to honor patriots; dedicated men of yesterday Men who knew the meaning of honor and integrity Men who sought office not for power or riches But for the love of their country and her people And I cringe at the thought, were they alive, How infuriated they’d be to see Broken hopes dried up and tossed aside Broken promises crumbling like the broken streets Broken citizens peacefully protesting See them tempted to revolt As they plead for their children’s tomorrows See the broken system and a bureaucracy pregnant with errant ways Hypocrisy no longer hides her face She flaunts her wares with ease Emboldened by ill-gotten wealth Blind to the writing on the wall! If alive today, we’d hear them cry, ‘Tear down these Billboards of blatant lies Break the platforms of clever rhetoric Put an end to infantile bickering Erase all the superficialities Wake up to your reality In the final analysis One simple truth remains… Each of us will exit this stage As naked as we came!