sleeping well

there came a
time when you stopped
reading newspapers,
watching the television,
ignored the news.
and others, your friends
and neighbors in
conversation would ask
you questions about
the war, and you'd say
what war, or ask you
about the economy and
the jobs disappearing
and you'd shrug and say,
i'm sorry, but i know
nothing about that.
or when the votes were
counted and so and so
won, or lost, so what.
and when a storm was
coming in, you had no
clue, no idea what was
going to happen.
the elephant escaping
from the zoo, or the
trains going on strike,
had no effect on your
life. and none of it,
as you always
suspected made a damn
bit of difference, you
were sleeping well,
and leaving the worry
to others, who also
could do nothing to
change things.