Hypocrites

Sadly, too many problems we have both with the world and each other seems to stem from the abundance of hypocrisy.

Hear us not…

                        The silent cries

                        The lonely sighs

                        The grieving lullabies

            We use to hide our sins,

            To refrain from giving in,

            To restrain our giddy whims.

 

Tell us not…

                        The lies we speak

                        Our damned deceit

                        The clarity less concrete

            For we are foul and fallible

            Totally undeniable �"

            Reality made less believable.

 

See us not…

                        The shifters in the shadows

                        The crimes that forego the gallows

                        The bone ripped from its marrow

            Since we cower under the biblical light

            While we impose our “God-given” right,

Yet still abstain from bringing the darkness to light.

 

Be us not…

                        The caring man

                        Sharers of the land

                        Supporters of ‘Yes We Can’

            But we value our values and claim we are righteous

            Quick to accuse others of their injustice

            And falsify our beliefs when others try to fight us

 

Practice us not…

                        The words we preach

                        The morals we beseech

                        The ethics we teach

            For we are humans: naïve to our own greed,

            We strive for what we want instead of what we need

            Felling down trees like pulling out weeds

 

Perceive us not…

                        The guilt we feel

                        The reality we say is not real

                        The lives from which we steal

            As we continue to exhaust our exhaustives

            And justify the selfish use of our reserves

            By taking from our future, towards which our present no longer serves.

Learn us not…

                        From our fabled history

                        From the violence of society

                        From the repercussions of reciprocity

            As we purvey the immoral to appease our guilt

            Rethink the virtues with which our lives have been built

            And find ways to manufacture money from leaves before they wilt

 

Grow us not…

                        As a global nation

                        Provoked by condemnation

                        Persecuted by prejudiced provocation

            We rather grow by accepting decline

            We eat vegetables like meat and drink water like wine

            Deluded that we are Saviors, a prophetic sign

 

Speak us not…

                        The languages of yore

                        When words stood for more

                        And bound us to our core

            Instead we text and sext here and there

            Taking selfies, online everywhere

            Slaves to technology, chilling in armchairs

 

Think us not…

                        Of the man on the street

                        Shirtless with bare feet

                        Searching for scraps to feast

            While we bath in more water than the bath can take

            Using electricity as if our houses were states

            Feasting on chips and eggs and desserts and wine and steak

 

Focus us not…

                        On the issues at hand

                        Tribulations of one’s own land

                        Trials of a global brand

            We would rather cultivate and spend our personal wealth

            Behaving with complete disregard for our health

            Protecting our belongings with dedicated stealth

 

Feel us not…  

                        The struggles of our brother

                        The worries of our lover

                        The burdens of our mother

            For our own lives are just that important

            Our choices unwise and our actions imprudent

            Masquerading our concerns with a firm resilience

 

 Build us not…

                        The character of our companion

                        The strength of our inner D’Artagnan

                        The foundation of our compassion

            Since we refuse to sacrifice the expansion of our empire

            Too concerned with succumbing to our desires

            Trying to woo our personal admirers

 

Depend us not…

                        On our own courage

                        On the constitution of our marriage

                        Or the qualities of humanity that we should salvage

            For fear reigns supreme in a world filled with doubt

            Our lives are deserts, akin to drought

            No replenishments for the qualities that stand out

 

Strive us not…

                        For the betterment of the less fortunate

                        To treasure that which is intimate

                        Or to discover all that is indefinite

            For discovery is constrained by the cost of its exploration

            And people no longer adhere to the consequences of their actions

            So pointless is the quest for social reformation

 

Develop us not…

                        The welfare of the living

                        Or the practice of forgiving

                        As we ignore the damning and the sinning

            For we are too afraid to acknowledge what we know is right

            In fear that it will place us in the path of other’s spite

            While we disguise ourselves as pious and contrite

 

Live us not…

                        As if each day were our last

                        While we pretend to learn from the past

                        And confuse murder with art

            While the wicked roam free and the innocent sleep warily

            And our laws are misconstrued deliberately

            For what does it mean to live, if not to be treated unfairly?

Author's Note

This poem is meant to bring attention to the rampant hypocrisy we are surrounded by. It is important to acknowledge its firm presence if we are to truly do something about it.