Jaded Thoughts Cascaded

I’d likely describe myself as jaded
as I take the world with a grain of salt
kept sanity hard with thoughts cascaded

so often I feel all hope has faded
body politic resembles a cult
I’d likely describe myself as jaded

while humanity’s eradicated
the angry earth yeets us, our own fault
kept sanity hard with thoughts cascaded

my generation always berated
“ok boomer” has become our default
I’d likely describe myself as jaded

COVID deniers through lies persuaded
herd immunity under assault
kept sanity hard with thoughts cascaded

every hope and dream has been invaded
all forward movement has ground to a halt
I’d likely describe myself as jaded
kept sanity hard with thoughts cascaded

Emily Jo Scalzo holds an MFA in fiction from California State University-Fresno. Their work has appeared in various magazines including Midwestern GothicMobius: The Journal of Social ChangeBlue Collar ReviewNew Verse News, and others. Their first chapbook, The Politics of Division, was published in 2017 and awarded honorable mention in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards in 2018. Read other articles by Emily Jo.