The world is on fire and we are trying not be its kindling.

Too many, the storm drains run red, too many more and I fear within my bones that then justice so far deferred and delayed, dissembled and denied will with the unfocused rage of millions demand and extract ten thousand thousands of ice in bags, as if to staunch the swelling, stacked so high the light of the sun will be blotted out and the wails of the children bereft and torn from root will at long last be muffled under a mountain of death called vengeance but truly waste and despair.

A swirling blight of wrath, dislocated from reason, awaits the world that binges on cruelty and gorges itself, so with petty innocence we cry for war oblivious to the damage, the stains upon our souls of the violence we’ve lied to call righteous and the unquenchable insecurity marks us as we kill truth to wear like a mask what we name strength, and so, crippled by the moral vacuum we’ve hollowed out our own torsos to hold, we stumble and trip into graves ever vaster, ever growing, and in so doing we feed our loves, our cherished futures, our very selves, to annihilation, betraying our everything at once and always.

There will be no coming back.

A turning point, fixed with our indignation and driven home by our absent compunction, at which we will use up what was to be our dreams and instead be left with purest, darkest, interminably complete: nothing.

© Copyright July 14, 2026, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com

David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet.