//contradiction

see the horror,
do the laundry.
another headline,
grab the groceries.
balance the world
on your shoulders.

how can we pretend
there is no tension?

not to be ignorant,
but i can’t be the only one,
who wants to fix this world,
but doesn’t know how.

how we all go on living
while still being haunted
by what’s stirring.
the water is murky.

call your senator,
vote better,
watch your dollar,
mind your temper.
try not to get sick,
from the horrors.

pay your bills,
stay fit,
don’t forget,
it’s okay to admit,
if you are also scared.
sometimes i wonder
if they profit off our panic.
probably.

i want to protest
all of this,
by watching
the sunset,
hug my friends.
catch up with family,
rest,
and do nothing,
while i try to digest,
this insanity.
i know that’s a privilege.

don’t ingest the headlines
into your heart.
it clogs the bridge,
between all of us.
but know,
we will never,
be the same.

i see the news,
and i wonder.
did i choose this timeline?
are we going under?
do they praise our resilience,
as we survive their chaos
every time?
atrocities.
above our heads,
and in their beds,
on our dime. 

maybe we need to be beacons,
keep one light on,
when the world stage goes dark,
and the music shuts off.
it is a stage, you know.
pay attention,
to where your energy goes.

in a world of opposites,
there has to be a counter,
to all this madness.
keeping joy,
is rebellion.
believe in the strength
of the human spirit.
even when evil,
is lurking among us. 

put on a song,
that one you like,
that eases the contradiction.