An Imaginary Focus on Believing

Held most sacred, like the religious beliefs
Of ancient civilizations,
Hidden in their dusky tombs
And painted and etched into their prolific walls,
The devout values of the past arose
From fears of drought and starvation.
But these amazingly tolerant natives
Often allowed cruel and malevolent invaders
To earn their unwarranted trust
And slaughter and vanquish their primordial cities
And enslave, or decimate, their peaceful denizens.
A simple life led by shamans or priests
Became rescinded by faith in preordained Gods
Who instead brought ruin and chaos
To their isolated and rich soils. 
Toward this diabolical end,
The act of stout and reverent belief
Led to the foolish demise of these once-wealthy,
Epic, and god-fearing civilizations. 

In the modern day, there is an imaginary reliance
On hard-fought values
That transcend these simplistic and primitive cultures.
Rather than rely on the Earth for sustenance and living,
Present day people sport a wealth
Of technology, tools, and privileges
To exist and survive,
Working at a variety of jobs
And living in distinctively furnished homes,
At least in parts of most nations,
Or in the wealthier countries of the world.
This rather imaginary focus on believing,
Either in oneself or one’s hope for the future,
Epitomizes the economic and social strata
That many of these folks already enjoy,
And which, if lost, will become evident
In solid, well-planned courses of action
To reverse these failing trends;
This, instead of a belief in divine intervention
Or nurturing from one’s family and friends…