I am sponge

I am sponge I soak up Discontent Bubbling up around me I soak up happiness In a child’s unburdened eyes… I see a stranger’s sadness after a long hard day A nervous twitch of a furtive eye He’s looking to fly from the world tonight… I see the wall… That a person sends With every handshake The eyes reveal… I see the absence of something inside dead eyes I see the twinkle of something brewing in a thoughtful glance I see a nervous mother a defensive stance as the world walks on by… Small talk forced by a checkout clerk Ready to end the day… A genuine exchange With a man dedicated on a slightly rainy day Talks of the past and what could have been Aloof, an open book Others an oyster clamped shut Keeping the world’s poison out… We humans are fickle creatures We live inside our own mind cages Some are made of straw Others hard brick walls Placing threats where there are none Ignoring others just to have some fun We spend our life Curating our egos Float on top of a boat Made of judgement From Lost loves and Sunday Sermons There is Universality of being That we seldom tap into The common thread of humanity Flowing through me and you… Two children crouching…. They shake…. As bombs rattle the rubble Surrounding them… Someone is filming There are Eyes behind the terror unfolding I see my own children crouched there… Shivering in the darkness… Innocent, for the fact In the wrong place at the wrong time in history Why can't we all just stop killing each other over mythical creatures and invisible men? The Universe is more interesting Than stories of old dead men… The golden rule ignored For more cash and Power Satisfies those filled with Pride and Folly Entrenched against anyone with the audacity to be themselves In a world where authenticity, integrity, and kindness are fleeting Being a sponge in this world is exhausting Love is sprinkled in a vat of hate and anger seething judgement too Like someone stuck in a rice silo Sinking to the bottom to a silent wistful death