Nothing Stays Pretty

Andrew R. Duckworth

Nothing stays pretty.
Tight skin to sags,
Flawless to bags,
Stone walls to ruins,
Forest to flatland,
Nothing stays pretty.
Bird’s nest to bare branch,
tranquil to war-torn,
spotless to blood-soaked,
Visible to cloaked,
Nothing stays pretty.
Known to nameless,
Nameless to known,
Obsession with self-
Pursuit overblown
In a selfish age
That only knows rage
And life on a stage,
Nothing stays pretty.