The Road to Power

 The road to success is paved
With the bodies of those 
Who failed along the way.

Those who made it to the top
Never once looked down,
Never glimpsed those beneath,
Frightened of the carnage at their feet. 

There are those who stayed behind,
Those who tried to help others,
Those who did their best to listen,
To understand,
To comfort those afraid of what they would lose.

But in the end,
Power consumes all.

Success brings power,
And the road to power
Will devour you whole.

There was a time I reached for the sky,
Reached for the sun shining over my head,
But then it turned red with the blood of the innocent.
Faced with the possibility of needing to murder
To survive, 
I fled.

Now here I stand,
On the edges of the world I once knew.
A world now bathed
In blood and flames. 

I see those I once knew,
Consumed by hatred and fear.
All our worst stories,
Coming true before my eyes. 

As the last bridge on the road to power crumbles,
All I can do is weep.