I read somewhere

a newspaper, a magazine, a meme, a tweet,

wherever it may be the words did land,

I felt a sudden twinge,

a pain, a sorrow, an anger, confusion.

I wonder sometimes about the reason,

when I try to piece together

how it is I do feel about the world around me.

I look carefully at the people I can,

there (it is) eyes do tell the difference when I can see

their fear, that anxiety, a turmoil cannot be explained

in short sweet ceremonial maxims.

 

We are all part of this dimension,

this mechanical nature to our lives,

we breathe, we believe, we question, we decay,

and yet we are suddenly caught up in the maelstrom

of righteous indignation

when asked to understand a neighbor,

who for whatever reason drives a better car,

wears finer linen,

has the time to spend only with their children,

rather than feed the masses,

the consumers who suggest we all need to act the same,

otherwise, we are being the selfish race.

 

There is time to embrace our heritage,

who we are and how it is we have become this lightning rod

for self awareness, for preservation, for we are all

cut from the same mold, the nature of our existence

is reliant upon basic chemistry,

no profound rocket science.

We eat, breathe, sleep, love, decide, discern,

and yet,

it is the pace of our knowledge sometimes brings

into question,

the authenticity of who we believe ourselves

to be.