The Temporary Masterpiece (2020)

“It’s got to be relevant,”
“Keep up with the news,”
“The problem facing teens today,”
Relevance, to me, is to be focused on the times,
And with this focus,
You must accept your uselessness in time,
Relevance, once used as a tool for change,
Has become a tool to chase momentary clout,
Relevance today,
Turns to irrelevance tomorrow,
Relevant masterpieces have expiration dates,
When they expire, they are displaced, they sour,
Becoming crumbling monuments of writing to yesterday,
They litter our world,
These masterpieces,
Focused on their watches and little else,
Will always be temporary,
Yet a true masterpiece never fades,
A masterpiece, not focused on the time,
Ages like leather,
Gaining detail and history,
A relevant masterpiece,
Ages like a rotting corpse,
Alive today,
And a waste tomorrow,
True masterpieces, in a way, are always relevant,
Since no matter when you read it,
It will always mean something,
It will always speak to you.