"Time for a break," I say with glee.
I turn on my TV, and flip through the channels,
Until some form of mindless entertainment
Calls out to me.
The latest movie trailer leaps over
The up-and-coming song,
And a seemingly happy man tells me
That everything in my life is wrong.
But then I stop at the news channel,
This is what I was hoping to avoid.
I nestle in my layers of comfort
And hear about the lives destroyed.
Rockets flatten civilian establishments,
A humanitarian disaster brews.
We all sigh and wonder why this happens,
But really - we all always knew.
I say I have avoided the news all this time,
And so do many - they just lie.
But in reality I always keep up.
You can't feign ignorance as thousands die.
And though some keep quiet,
The emotional burden is not their own.
Who cares about YOU keeping up with events,
As thousands lose THEIR homes?
So you keep your distance,
And when you can, you donate.
You hope that sending money
Will not let it all deteriorate.
You march in protests miles away,
As the bombs continue to fall.
You mask yourself, wear unidentifiable clothing,
Lest your mom sees you - and calls.
You can't change it all, though you wish you could.
Switch off the button of war, send the bullets packing,
But you've got three assignments due,
And you find your own power lacking.
You spent a week worrying about deadlines,
And whether your professor thinks you cause trouble,
A lot of people like you spent the week worrying
About digging themselves out of literal rubble.
What did you do to be fortunate enough
To not live under an exploding sky?
But I suppose you never feel fortunate anyway
Or perhaps you know it's all a lie.
You were just born in the "right" place,
And you will never understand why,
Those that are born on the "wrong" side,
Seem to be destined to die.
And so you reflect on your own individual actions
As the weeping child on the news leaves you breathless,
You turn the TV off, turn your music on,
And hope it drowns the screams of the helpless.