Napoleon XIV
The Note
To whom it may concern, this decision was mine
I am no longer concerned with how you make yours
I have excused myself from your problems and your moralities
You may incinerate yourselves or not, as you choose
I will not share the guilt for murdered children
Nor contribute children of my own for slaughter
I will not live in plenty while others starve
Or starve while others prosper
I refuse to walk in mindless terror through your violent streets
Or to breathe your poisoned air
Or to suffer the ugliness of your polluted, plastic world
And I see no hope for tranquility
I relinquish the right to choose leaders to represent me
The choice is meaningless, for your leaders choose only to represent themselves
I abandon the temples of gold and the worship of status
I am weary of having to be ashamed of the functions of my body and the desires of my mind
I cannot be the child of a species too immature to respect and too self-centered to love
When the final confrontation comes
My body will long ago have shed your partisan uniform, its color
This decision was mine
I am no longer concerned with how you make yours