born into this

born like this
into this
as the chalk faces smile
as Mrs. Death laughs
as political landscapes dissolve
as the oily fish spit out their oily prey

we are 
born like this
into this


into hospitals which are so expensive that it's cheaper to die
into lawyers who charge so much it's cheaper to plead guilty
into a country where the jails are full and the madhouses closed
into a place where the masses elevate fools into rich heroes

born into this
walking and living through this
dying because of this

castrated
debauched
disinherited
because of this

the fingers reach toward an unresponsive god
the fingers reach for the bottle
the pill
the powder

we are born into this sorrowful deadliness
it will be open and unpunished murder in the streets
it will be guns and roving mobs
land will be useless
food will become a diminishing return
nuclear power will be taken over by the many
explosions will continually shake the earth
radiated men will eat the flesh of radiated men
the rotting bodies of men and animals will stink in the dark wind
and there will be the most beautiful silence never heard

born out of that
the sun hidden there
awaiting the next chapter

ch bukowski