For the last few years I have been a radio reporter

I do not report on the nice things but the depressing

This is beginning to get me down and is testing my faith

People note that I am good at my job but I disagree

As I am screaming on the inside dry weeping all the time

Yesterday I reported the story of a war veteran who overdosed

As the road outside of his house had become busier and nosier

It was a tragic story of a good man worn down to the bone by progress

Or what is thought to be progress in the modern world

A once quiet suburban avenue upgraded to be part of a bypass

I actually went home last night and got drunk which is unusual

The days are getting shorter and nights longer the air is chilling

Mike Pender Jones