Long Gone

by Cheryl Merrick

In a day of growing darkness

when hearts have hardened past feeling,

Shouts of revenge,

born from frenzied minds,

shatter the peace,

as hoards waving banners

spill into the street

seeking to destroy all those

who refuse to follow

their current cause.

Now, the shouts have 

     died away to nothingness.

Now, the streets lie 

     shrouded in eery stillness.
Now, their causes fade, 

     forgotten, into oblivion. 
Now, only history remembers 

     this once great civilization
     sadly recounting the fatal flaws 

     of a people long gone.