Dig Deep

I guess if I’m going to do this I need to dig deep

Let’s not repeat the yarns and tales

of those who tell fables

Let’s lay it all out on the table

Sincere connection comes from brutal honesty

And brutality

means I need to shun banality

and rip out my heart

and place it in my hands before you

I’m telling you this because I adore you

I don't know you

but I love you

the amazing few

Who take the time to hear me out

You’re a beautiful creature

And I’ll feature you in my dreams

And even when it seems

like I’m not there

And it feels like you’re in a drought

I’m thinking about how much you care

And people are funny that way

The say

“Let’s do lunch”

or

“I’ll follow you back”

But the lack of empathy sickens me

That’s what it is:

A sickness

There is a cure

A way to get better

To cast aside this dead letter emotion

And unfetter ourselves from apathetic glut,

But we don’t we want that

We want the next episode of

“Keeping up With the Ninety-Day Married at First Sight” trite

Hackneyed lives inject themselves with this popcorn blight

If it isn’t light and airy

then they don’t carry it with them,

like they’re on a suicide mission to kill their minds

Someone pull them aside and tell them that a brain cell

isn’t something to shove your head inside of

We need some allies in this

war on the boring

Imploring our hearts to do no harm

Arm ourselves with the antidotes to the sounds of silence,

engage in passive non-violence

Take a stand and use our just voices to cut through the useless chatter

"Five Demands, not one less", trust women, free Tibet, and black lives

fucking matter

We have a voice,

we have a life,

We have a choice,

we have the space

So make a case for respect and love

We shouldn’t have to convince people to take care of one another

but goddammit it looks like we still do.

Through all that we’ve been through we should know better

Maybe our children will know better

Maybe our children’s children will know better

But for now,

we better make a game plan

and do everything that we can

In this lifespan

to make this a place where kids don’t hide and cry

when a black and white drives by.

Be the votives of the trailblazers

who came before us.

There are too many beautiful songs in this chorus of life

to want to tear down each other for trivial motives.

Poetry and anthems raise the hairs on our arms

Like two a.m. fire alarms,

like a million little flags over a battle site.

Each one a headstone where the bodies of apathies lie dead

Tread over your goosebumps with grace and poise

And make some noise when something moves you

Call out the bullshit but don’t quit praising the works well done

One kind remark

after another,

after another,

after another,

Checkmarks our accomplishments

And adds to the badges of pride

that we all long to carry inside

Be quick to hand out compliments

And slow to speak admonishments

Provide a safe space for each other

to make the case for their lives

Your arms should reach out like the harbor,

your eyes a lighthouse guiding the way,

sheltering the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to be free

Open the golden door of your heart and I guarantee

we’ll start to see a change

You can fight fire with fire,

but hate fought with hate only propagates the problem

Measure your words against the scales of justice

And trust us

when we say that we can make a difference

Lean in to the indifference,

take a stance against the advance

of those on the wrong side of history.

Elect a new consistory

of fighters of love, truth, and openness.

Motionless only leads to the more of the same.

Shame on us for falling this far.

Are we okay with children in cages,

with the rising rent and the stagnant wages?

Pages torn from a book written by a fascist vision,

like the uteruses of unwilling women.

Addicts crawling through our streets in need of rehab.

We had so much potential,

we could have led the way.

Instead we stay

holding onto these archaic beliefs.

Less concerned about billionaires not paying taxes

and more concerned

with what two men do between their bedsheets.

We used to train armies to fight wars on a battlefield.

Now they wield concealed keyboards in their back pockets.

Ready to fire off hate rockets

From their armchairs of despair at anyone who cares

enough to share their works.

Networks of socially maladjusted mudslingers.

Far wingers who would rather deal in slander and lies,

criticize, and horrify, mortify, and, vilify,

rather than compromise, and harmonize and just say

“You do you, brah.”

Nah,

you see they can’t stand anyone

who lives in the arenas.

Hyenas and jackals who make snide remarks and crackle

from the nosebleeds.

So please, please don’t feed the trolls.

Potholes in our information superhighway.

Lay down your arms if you are one of those.

Remove the basement blindfold of harassment and hate

and we welcome you back

into the fold.

Helping them to see love shelters us all from bereavement.

And I know some would disagree with me

about inviting back reformed trolls and bigots.

But uniting those transformed can be our greatest achievement.

Spigots who used to spew forth vile, now stockpile love and acceptance.

Dance across the party, age, and gender lines

carrying signs that say more than just

“hooray for our side”

Wide-eyed children look to their future with grandeur, hope, and optimism

Dismay that they stare into the nightmare face of

ableism,

alarmism,

alcoholism,

ageism,

authoritarianism,

capitalism,

chauvinism,

colonialism,

criticism,

cynicism,

despotism,

dogmatism,

egoism,

elitism,

fascism,

leftism,

narcissism,

nepotism,

nihilism,

ostracism,

pessimism,

racism,

rightism,

sexism,

terrorisms

Isn’t enough enough?

Cast off the chains that bind us to these pains.

Take back the reins of our life.

Enough of this pointless trouble and strife.

Our quality of life shouldn’t be dependent on our

race, religion, gender, leanings, pocketbook, or creed

It should be guaranteed.

Because inside each of us is a child just longing to be loved.

And a grown adult trying to do the best they can.

And

the reality of life is that some people are going to love you in spite of your flaws,

And some people are going to hate you without giving pause

But through it all, stand tall. Know that though each attack,

we have your back.

Know that in the darkness our love shines bright to lead us out of this night.

The dawn is coming.

Stand on the shores of tomorrow, hand in hand

Love ampersand peace

Cease the violence, cease the hate

Debate in restraint of going too far

Words leave a scar as deep as knife cuts

Discuss and learn

Adjourn from the people who are not wanting to grow

Who are not willing to dig deep

And who repeat the yarns and tales

of those who tell fables

Now let’s turn the tables

And follow a different trail

Large-scale change means small-scale steps

So save this message someplace where you will see the following note:

Don't forget to smile, hold open a door, talk with kindness, and vote