"Degeneration" by F.R. Scott

               

The first to go are the niceties,

The little minor conformities

That suddenly seem absurdities.

Soon kindling animosities

Surmount the old civilities

And start the first brutalities.

Then come the bold extremities,

The justified enormities,

The unrestrained ferocities.

From Signatures, F.R. Scott, 

Klanak Press, Vancouver, 1964