that night

i wonder if wine 
hastens one's demise 
when no one has eyes for you
and demise is the goal you yearn 

i wonder if life
hastens one's death 
when no one is any the wiser
to what you're really intending to do 

i wonder if love 
is actually what kills you
when everyone says foolishly 
it's everything you'd ever desire 

and i wonder if pills and tablets 
but not like the ones the heroes took in films 
when battling with the evil ones 
all those years ago 

are all we can look forward to
in a century where reflection 
is no longer measured thinking 
but has become a narcissistic fact 

of selfies galore 
and personal branding 
and instagrammed realities 
editing foolishly out all of the truths 

because when all is done and said 
and the winners take the bread 
and leave the crumbs behind 
for the stupid and the blind 

society wasn't made to do any good
and businesses weren't aimed 
at what we ought or should 
but just instead to speed the passing 

of what some of us thought 
was right for a while
and whilst we still had the guts all right we did
to think with a kind of style that night