If you ask me to justify my existence

or the existence of my creative output,

I will fail this assignment

every single time.

Part of my response 

is my usual rebellion

towards everything about modern life,

but the other half of my disgust 

derives from my inability to understand

how debasing others 

justifies your own continuation.

Even if I agree with you

that I shouldn’t be here,

don’t we all agree 

presence means more than absence

where livelihoods are concerned?

While I appreciate my life

and all the grafts upon my purpose

that have been lucky enough to take,

I may have run out of reasons 

that anyone but me will believe.

No, this late-night musing 

isn’t a cry for help, 

because I don’t want it

to bring us together in this way,

but this dissension from agreed-upon statutes

that define what you should do

and what I should do in response

might lead us to better answers

than your initial undignified tripe.

Can’t the two of us

justify each other?

Now I get to wait for your reply

and watch you squirm 

as you realize the same answer I did:

Neither of us can justify this adventure.

But that doesn’t mean 

that it’s not worth the time.