Can It Be True?

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
That religion is dead, we no longer believe
Just forget it all, there is no need to grieve

Can it be true? I hope that its not
Although people say it quite a lot
That the future is bleak due to global warming
Yet most of us simply ignore every warning

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
That we are eating too much and are all overweight
And obesity will surely increase the death rate

Can it be true? I hope that its not
Although people say it quite a lot
That too many of us are burdened by debt
And bankruptcy is now an odds-on bet

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
So many folks claim they feel depressed
And the pace of life is making them stressed

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
We spend far too much time gazing at screens
We’ve become totally absorbed by these crazy machines

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
They’ve given up on 24-hour news
Tragic events just give them the blues

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
Our ‘friendships’ quite often only on-line
Rarely together with a glass of wine

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
They are fed up enduring the daily commute
Stuck in slow traffic on their regular route

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
Robots are coming to take all our work
Unemployment is looming really quite stark

Can it be true? I hope that it’s not
Although people say it quite a lot
That somehow their life has begun to cloy
And wish they might somehow recover its joy

But enough of all this long list of complaints
To this litany let us put some constraint
‘Cause life’s not all bad, I am sure that is true
And all dark thoughts we should simply eschew

Can it be true? I hope it is so
That your own life is not so blighted by woe
And when these Jeremiahs your spirits assail
Your joie de vivre might yet  prevail

Ken Fisher