Look forward, look down
Look anywhere
but all around
lift your purse,
open your wallet—watch it!
Heads down, fingers forward.
Pay no attention to
that yawning gulf,
we know,
it grows greater with every gulp
Be apart—a part
you’re no worm—
you’re a cog
Heads down, fingers forward.
Keep these Great Gears a-turning
as the forests start their burning
yearly offering
offal, yearning
no time—
your wandering mind is
useless, on our dime.
Heads down, fingers forward.
That ache within,
is not your sin
We spin your thread
Ignore the knocking
in your—
Won’t be long
Hold still—
let the invisible hand
do its thing
Heads down, fingers forward.
Does it sting?
Nearly done
Something’s stuck?
All normal
Have a nip, a tuck,
A pill, a fuck.
But don’t get up
Heads down, fingers forward.
You expose the grotesque tenderness of a system that tells us we are cogs, then calls it empowerment. That sells sedation, then calls it self-care. That strips meaning from our days, then chastises us for wandering minds, as if wonder were a sin, as if yearning were disorder, as if being human were an inefficiency to correct.
Beautiful piece ❤️