What make a news channel reputable
Government funding?
Prime television timing?
And what about the independents
Who gained their audience
Through honesty, integrity
And showing sources
Instead of pushing the only claims
That justify enforcements?
What makes one expert better
A government endorsement?
The size of their paycheck?
And what happened to health
Being a matter of personal agency?
You can find fast food at every corner
though heart disease
Is the number one killer
In North American families.
Since when does an appointed authority
Get to play some god?
And why have we lost control
Of our own thoughts?
There are so many questions
And I'd say it's not
A crazy idea to allot some time
To think on these hypocrisies
As we are a species
Capable of great things
If we could learn to bring
Out the best in ourselves
So we can help one another
And reach potentials
That the current state would never bother
Encouraging us to attain
‘Cause there’s little to freely gain
From the healthy, the sane.
You believe historical documentaries
But can't link the chains
That manipulation is not
Just a thing of the past
It’s a ship that keeps sailing
With the unaware at the mast
It’s just hard to know you're in it
When plot changes this fast.
Don't get caught up
In the fear fads
Of today
Because deceit is here to stay
As long as our minds
Are weak enough to be played
And our focus is frayed.
We don't need products
Or fame
Self-confidence
Is not on subscription
It's ingrained
In logic
Knowing conflict
May never end
But a clear mind does not bend
To find answers in the pretend.
See the beauty in the end
Of the hardships.
Better to stay present
Than turn numb and complacent.
This isn't a pageant
To see who is the best person
As real good doesn't need recognition.
What is this condition
Of living like reality is fiction
And real life happens
Behind screens?
Our addiction to the obscene
Is tearing us away from what it really means
To be human beings.
No wonder we're leaving
Decisions to others
We've lost touch
With being mothers and fathers
So we turn into soldiers
In a war against ourselves
Because we can't tell
That the worth of our existence
Is defined by meaningful experience.
You are not someone else's experiment.
Your choices only make sense
If it's your own voice
That presents them.
Make sure it's reality you're repeating
Not the fear of impending
Danger
You heard from a stranger
Who’s got a fancy title on paper
But have never shaken your hand.
And if you choose to stand
Outside this line
You may get backlash, but you'll be fine
Once you realize
There are communities to build
Upon values that fill
Your life with peaceful purpose
Instead of breaking your back
On a path that is worth-less
Than your best guess
Of what freedoms you have left
In a game you were signed up for
When you couldn't even speak yet.
by Kayla Henry
Watch the poem on YouTube
Copyright © 2021 Kayla Henry
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this poem may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a review.
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