Somewhere along the way, without even realizing it

I learned to love the corruption

almost like a green field became a canvas

and I dipped my brush into steel and smoke and grime-streaked streets

ready to paint my part of the masterpiece

on all the faces turned to the sky

The real beauty is down here among the desolate

something almost like unity in the little wars we wage

balanced on a ledge over places we might have been before

catching glimpses of the not too far away

All the while laughing at the carnage

and ignoring how close the gun has come to our own heads

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Photo by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash