When the chatter of troubled voices
Are deafening in its frenzy,
The pitch, an ever higher plea for help,
One seeks an acknowledgement,
A nod of empathy,
A parental hand on the head,
That soothes the raw scars.
Insincerity seems abhorrent,
Egocentric responses, comical,
The ensuing puppet show, insulting.
Surely, the masthead of popular selection
Must possess a semblance of maturity
That allows all his children to breed
Love, at best;
A grudging respect, at worst.
Erratic actions and reactions
Have opened new wounds
And slathered salt into others.
Where does one seek to dream?
As the seedling that seeks life
When craning its neck towards the sun?
Is the light to be eclipsed
Until the cloak of darkness
Leaves a barren field
Save for aimless travelers?
Rational is turning irrational,
Normal into challenged.
Coherent thoughts have been rearranged
To question the given.
And like special children blessed
With extraordinary imagination,
That exists outside of the norm for the masses,
Most are being forced into a mode of survival
That allows them to protect their imaginations.
We had clawed our path to a higher plain
With proof of whiplash stains on bare backs.
We had learnt to reason with intelligence
A step beyond mere instinct.
We know the toil of towing the line
As the path to egalitarianism.
We accept that we will lose some battles
So that we win the war.
Let the hope not be on the other side of reason;
Let our survival not be a fool’s errand that bereaves us of purpose;
Let our collective wisdom prevail to broker peace;
Let us fight the common enemy that has no label;
Let the hatred give way to love.
- mh (c) 2017
