The Demise of Civility and Respect

no doubt exists in dark corners of my mind:
we killed Her, with such slow demise
no knowledge of the deed came to common attention;
dismemberment by degree, small pieces removed,
a little here, a little there, ’til Her existence was obliterated.

once She was gone, He was easy to remove:
cutting off at the knees and swift decapitation,
His power bleeding out, mingling with disrespect,
abandoned, with none embracing His principles.
once They were the foundation of our society.

amid the remnants of venerated tradition
we sit unsuspecting, offering a gracious hand in greeting
to all those passing, as each picks delicately,
leaving smidgens of sinew clinging precariously,
Civility and Respect trodden to dust.