“Nothing seems worth believing now, All beautiful thoughts, I ignore.” (Sandra Verdi)

by Sandra Verdi

Values seem lost in this haphazard world,
Righteousness seems not sincere;
The eyes of the guilty lurk all about,
Life’s purpose does not render clear.

My world is colliding with rapid speed,
With all that I cherished before;
Nothing seems worth believing now,
All beautiful thoughts, I ignore.

For they are not real in such chaotic times,
When the merits of man are unsure;
When honesty falls prey to tyrannical foes,
When life’s pain is so hard to endure.

Can nobody speak the truth anymore,
Is it all a forgotten, dark past;
Can no one find strength in the glory of virtue,
How long must such deception last.

I’m tired of running and searching,
For values that do not exist;
Must I cast aside my ideals like all others,
And scorn those who try to resist.

one last question now invades my mind,
That which I can’t comprehend;
If all of humanity proceeds as it has,
Is not the world close to its end.

“(untitled),” by Sandra Verdi originally published in Forum (1968, City College of San Francisco).