I still try to laugh, sometimes

But it’s getting harder the more

My eyes peel back to understanding

The way we cradle and coddle ourselves

With what we want to be real, to believe

Because the truth is revolting, condemning

To us, continually, as we defile the only

Love that matters, with our love for self

All the nonsense we embrace to define

And justify ourselves before a hollow

Empty version of nothing, that leads only

To more of the nothing that lies, writhing

In the final, permanent separation that awaits

Those who stand righteous in their own eyes