She called me her ultimatum
as I took on the role of demiurge,
ignoring law and the heavens.

I was baited
for our American dream, an ideal
passed down and lost or ignored each generation.

For there is no dignity in death
in the here-and-now—honor
has tucked itself away in a cabinet on Ellis Isle.

Still, the heart of this machine forces blood
through placid eyes of youth
condemning them to write the future

with that dusty feather pen
who has long since lost its identity.

Joshua D. Biddle

Commentary:
From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through the portal of Ellis Island, a small island in New York Harbor.

This poem is Platonic in nature (think Republic) with thoughts that regard to conversations revolving around the “Ideal State”. Some ideas of Pentti Linkola, a Finnish deep ecologist and philosopher are also present with his ideas of rapid population decline. He is known for his strong favor of deindustrialization and opposition of democracy. These ideas combined are meant to hint at the rapid decline, or impending doom, of The Earth and humanity as a whole.