Wake up!

There are words I long

to say, to anyone

who might listen.

To awaken the

sleeping, heads buried

in a layer of

ignorance.

There are people

dying and children crying

and mothers

being

separated from

their young.

Do we pretend

it’s OK. Head down.

Get on. Someone

else’s problem.

Someone else’s

life.

I’m pretty sick of it, if I’m honest,

of greed, and the desire for fame,

as if this demonstrates

the success of a human being.

Show me your soul

that’s all I want to see of you.

Naked. Honest.

Truthful.

Ditch the show, please,

for the sake of humanity.

This isn’t a game (get off

the screen, get outside. Breathe), this

is for real. They’re dying

while you’re lying with

your head in denial.

A poem by Emma Després