as a child
sitting cross-legged
before our mammoth television
on seventies avocado shag carpeting
i would stand quickly
run to the old wooden zenith floor model
slamming a soft palm
into the black and silver power switch
when i became overwhelmed
scared by what i was seeing
thereby reducing
the horror squared
to a tiny speck of pixel light center screen
that in moments would magically
cease to be
calm returned
now at 36
i feel much the same way
about the state of humanity
about the state of the dying world
we are the most grandiose fools
to ever crawl from primordial ooze
there is no button to be pushed
i’ve had my fill
i don’t want to see anymore