Poetry Contest Winner: 2nd Place

Welcome to the land of disingenuous deceit

Where promises are made while promising defeat

Where dreamers of tomorrow arrive with hearts of hope

Then quickly trade their hearts in for ½ an oz. of dope

A city full of “angels” filled with eternal “fear and loathing”

Where wolves cross dress, camouflaged by sheep’s clothing.

Hollywood: the La-La Land chock full of fabled truths

Where the “American Dream” is born

And Sell Outs mass produced.

Where a penny for your thoughts is an unnecessary expense

For your kiss? A thousand dollars. For your soul? Fifty cents.

A city where artificial beauty runs in high demand

where silicone and normalcy go together hand in hand.

Where combat is commercialized like fifteen minute fame

And soldiers run by corrupt politicians, pawns in a chess game.

Skewed perception and deception are the orders of the day

Convoluted youth is bred then shown misguided ways.

Products of a pompous society that’s sadly gone astray

All for an “L.A. state of mind”… what a misconstrued cliché.