How?

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How?
How do people do it?
How do people smile, drive cars,
buy loaves of bread,
read the paper, go to school,
go to jobs, go to church,
eat sushi, talk on cell phones,
drink coffee?

How do they piss,
s**t and vomit?
How do they
get their
shoes shined,
stand in line,
comb their hair,
brush their teeth,
go to the theatre,  
the circus, the carnival?

How do they do
these things and  
so much more when
babies, innocent- beautiful
babies, are born into this
brutal world,
where parents die,
where feral cats carry off
little birds that fall from  
the nest,
where best friends die,
O.D, get hit by cars
drowned or
die from some
strange brain thing.

How do we eat
chocolate, watch football,
and build snowmen?
How do we
visit the zoo,
go to the moon
copulate
masturbate
menstruate and
procreate
when hearts still
break,
Sweet Jane dies.
The walk on the
wild side ends,
and the letters we
send get returned?

How do they do it ,
when
dogs get hit by  
cars,
w****s roam the bars,
the dodo’s extinct and
wackos still brutalize
children?
How do people do it?
How do they carry on?

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDs9dUjQz58
Link to my you tube channel where I read my poetry.

Reviews

[carl]

These are the questions we don't want to ask - we don't even want to think about. Because we have no answers other than the blind eye. The heart breaking realities of life often do not enter our minds or hearts. Thanks for asking - we need to be reminded even if we don't want to be or don't like it. -carl

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, Carl. I appreciate the read and comment.

[Amy R]

Such a deep write, I always wonder the same,
this reminds me of how unfair this world is and the only thing to do is carry on..

Thanks for sharing.
-Amy

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, Amy. Much appreciated.

[Amy R]

You're welcome

[Poetic_Vixen]

I could never understand but I guess we all can't decipher how we all are able to walk past others' misery and be happy in our bubbles, some of us are fortunate enough to have normal lives while some have cruel fate, but I guess we all face our falls. Well done on focussing on the cruel reality of life in many faces you used here.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

[Poetic Beauty]

Because the is almost always hope. Hope for a brighter tomorrow, hope that another can be saved when one couldn’t. There is also love and the internal drive to survive in most people. There are terrible horrible things we can’t change unfortunately. I can’t dwell on those large scale problems that I can not fix. It overwhelms me. That why I don’t watch much news or read the newspaper.

[Thomas W Case]

I agree. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

[Arundass TP]

How? How? How? How did I read this poem? This poem is too deep like an ocean. A masterpiece.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, kind sir. I appreciate it.

[Arundass TP]

Welcome sir

[John the Baptist]

The unfairness of life seems to have no end. If we didn't do the things listed, it might overwhelm us.

[Thomas W Case]

So true. Thanks for stopping by John.

[Vol]

Thomas,
In other words, the eternal "WHY?" When I go down this rabbit hole, I usually wind up in a jungle where he constant hum of life plays its symphony of eat or be eaten, every spark of life, from the tiniest insect to the alpha predators are on the same treadmill while the planet spins its way around the outer reaches of the Milky Way completely unawares. Meanwhile, some kid's ice cream just dropped off the cone to land in the dirt while he throws a screaming tantrum. Perspective.

[Thomas W Case]

lol. So true my friend. Thank you.

[Stella Armour]

Some have a moral conscience and others do not sadly.

You or I may well be very emotionally affected by seeing a baby bird dragged from its nest and killed just for sport from a larger bird; road-kill victims always get to me ...

Someone else may well ridicule us for even noticing , but i would rather be soft hearted than uncaring about the world around me .... if i am in a minority well so be it .

[Thomas W Case]

I completely agree. Thank you, Stella.

[Marie]

Many questions raised in this poem, Thomas and answers are unknown. How do people carry on? Well, a person never knows how strong they are until they are called upon by events which take place that require them to be strong. There is a vast well of strength deep within us which we draw on when we need it without even realising it's there. Very thought provoking poem! Thank you for sharing...

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, Marie. I appreciate the read and comment.

[Marie]

Most welcome always, Thomas...