The Gyre

history certainly repeats itself its cycle is vague and mercurial the stony beast no longer hides shadows of evil cover the world failures of the past lie scattered in the desert the desiccated corpse of the king rules a dominion of dust crumbling effigies outlast the empire again the Sphinx will suffocate beneath the sand moss covered totems now rot in the jungles the centuries have washed away the blood the sacrificial steps of the pyramids have been cleansed by time tourists whisper of these things and take a photograph today the tyrants compete for glory their treasure is easily maintained extracted from the blood and sweat and tears of slaves the chains are fabricated from the iron grip of the system in the east a yellow fog descends as dogs and old men die along with women and children politicians puff their chests and pontificate and nothing changes in this world each morning a hopeless star rises in the east and yet no wise men appear on the morning news the evil moon sinks into the deceit of a dying sea innocence and salvation's infancy still await and we give thanks that we survived the night there is no second coming our poets shed their tears and pen a desperate song recited for the coffeehouse where no one really hears ~~~~~ On the cycle of evil in the world and the slaughter of civilians in Syria by nerve gas from the Bashar Assad regime. Allusions to William Butler Yeats' The Second Coming are intentional.