Image: Weidenbach / CC BY-SA

THE RECKONING

Somethin' brewin' in my mind
can't pinpoint malaise I will in time
so much conflict strife bad news
sometimes I think what's to lose

do I sit back in comfort nest retreat
do I stand up for what I believe
ay there's the rub what do I believe
beyond platitudes and saying
the fashionable thing

discourse polarized no debate
shouting over each other
for argument's sake
powder keg on top of a pandemic
think we're wise but really animalistic

mental shortcut
cognitive bias
filter bubble
double trouble
all I know in the news
deep rabbit hole
what is truth
but well-worn lies
if we all believe it
two wrongs might make rights

anxieties grip nations identities
we are more than
colours tribes and species
all our hopes and aspirations
we are really specks
in this universe of creation

overstated importance
no less no more
blip in the annals of time
what's in store
for humanity
climate change
a reckoning
make way for evolution
homo sapiens' execution

we'll do it to ourselves lay waste
and scorch the planet
like a forest needs to burn
to regenerate bring new life
for the next self-appointed
pinnacle of creation's turn
humanity reduced to fossil fuel

they'll laugh and think
how primitive were our mores
heathen worshippers of greed excess
power-hungry feed the mess
the economy the beast
no one really understands
variables too complex
spinning on its own grotesque
lurching around the globe

human oversight relegated
to algorithmic worship
what do the numbers say?
we must serve the GDP,
jobs report, oh master
what is thy bidding?

maybe if we shouted loud enough
we'll fall further in love with
the sound of our own voices
damn it we'd rather be right than fair

who's got the bigger stick
a prickly mess we're in right now
tick tock tick tick tick
it's gonna explode already has
massive job loss and disruption
can't keep up with changing times
retool retrain by the time that's done
the job no longer exists
no bacon to be brought home
obsolete displaced in the mist

race to the bottom
dignity's hard to find
when most of us run around blind
no one wants to say I don't know
paralysis to the bone

history repeats itself
progress hard to measure
eventually we'll get there, where?
to hell in that handbasket

maybe this is hell already
a very elaborate trick
waiting on the other side,
providence?
are you sick?

it's not enough to sit back
and do nothing sit idly by
maybe if we listened before
judging what we fear
a little step dispel that hate
maybe shed a tear

history isn't on our side
our memories short and quick
fuck the machine
revolutions are easier
to bring forth
until a vacuum of leadership
brings forth the demagogue

resorts to the promise
of a better life
back to basics
no more strife
restricts your liberties
gathers intelligence
divides and conquers
in the name of security
locks up the dissenters
curl up in xenophobic pride
we're all immigrants except
for those already inside

insurmountable mountain
started as a mole hill
this hole we've
tunnelled too far
end of days maybe we'll burn
but at least we can say
on our gravestones
herein lies the selfish sacrifice:
we bit off our too-proud noses
to spite our two-faced faces

how can we heal amid the inequities
between what are known as races
look in the mirror maybe
what we hate in others
is what we fear in ourselves
in our own faces

outsource all that insecurity
militarize with surety
shoot first ask questions later
what good will that do
entrench our views
continue the cycle of abuse

can we listen
put away our judgments
easier said than done
reach out call out injustices
stand together do not run
problems seem intractable
what is even practical

deeper than the colour of your skin
lies the dreams ambitions of your kin
the trauma inflicted and received
a deep deep psychic wound bereaved
the blood the anger the outrage the hate
are you complicit with the current state
hell no hell yes maybe i don't know
let me veg on Netflix
watch my stupid show
check yourself do you feel the sweat
stop the madness course correct

now there's a lot of overwhelm
who is even at the helm
reflect on what you've been fed
everything that has been said
to you from your parents
teachers leaders followers
examine your beliefs
and those of who you other
you might find something
more in common than you'd care
to admit to your mother

before we continue the shouting match
take time for self-reflection
are you part of the problem
or part of the solution

and whose solution on whose terms
that is what really burns
we're globalized interdependent
if we don't get our shit together
how will we ever weather
our ignorance and collective stasis
I submit to you on this basis
nothing ever will be achieved
basing our opinions
on 30-second soundbites
and 140-character feeds

the rest is up to you
how will you live your life
red pill blue pill
maybe there's even no pill
this much is sure
change is coming
let's not reduce it to
good versus evil
maybe it's more about creating
a narrative that's believable

a story that not only
looks and sounds nice
but recognizes everyone
reconciles the wealth that's
been built on the backs of the
disenfranchised sum

wars have been fought
as much for peace as for
economic supremacy
there must be a better way
to distribute the sweat equity

too much blood pent up anger
pressure cooker release valve fried
top has blown big mess inside
how will we clean up the room
by assigning blame or moving through
some kind of reckoning pay the bill
held to account by whom? good question
an eye for an eye or turn the other cheek
blessed are the meek
for they shall inherit

the difference between
vengeance and justice
a fine fine line to toe
appetite for destruction
what will you have to show?

how about this thought experiment:
sit and examine your prejudice
ask yourself why you feel like that
about those who are not like you
sit with your answers and let it stew
is it possible in the slightest your views
might reflect some insecurity?

look deep within
you might find
in the final reckoning
you can't stand to look
yourself in the mirror

and if you come
to that conclusion
know that you can change
shed your story
build anew
ask for help
change your views
it's up to you

what are YOU going to do?