I finished a book last night.
A tale of fairies and dwarves,
elves and men,
driven to purge great evil.
Their foes; vicious and foul.
Creatures born of darkness,
bent on abolishing the light.

Heroic deeds abound,
some with brave hearts die,
others live.
On final pages,
I read of triumphant good,
learning if we stay true,
wickedness will vanish.

The story, well written,
like hundreds of others,
similar in plot and outcome.
For a moment I felt inspired.
Perhaps the strength of kindness
and intelligence might conquer
the ignorance of man.

Today I scan the news
to find the fantasy that engulfed me
is nothing more than that.
Cruelty, chaos, greed and power
rule the day and only glimmers
of integrity lay strewn
among the paper’s last few sheets.

So I pick up a novel
and began to read
of knights and dragons,
benevolent kings
and women of courage.
The pretense of a virtuous humanity
rising only from pages in a book.