A thousand distractions vie for attention
Ripping asunder, they pull in different directions Surrounded by sounds of music and voices,
Of power tools in the hands of power-hungry fools
We've lost the ability for quiet reflection.
We fear the silence, for we fear our own thoughts.
We've forgotten how to think.
Opinions are formed for us, dependent on political persuasion,
And we wear the party line like a tasteless tag left hanging from a shirt.
lf we only talk louder than The Other
Surely the point will be made,
Though we're not exactly clear what we believe - we only do as we are told.
It is no matter, so long as the world sees and hears, and believes the lie that we seek to do good and make change
When in the end
We only crave attention.
In the zealous fight for that prize, we have lost the will to communicate, to comprehend, and to have an original thought.
We have lost our common humanity.
Hannah Baker obtained an English degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a law degree from the Catholic University of America. She resides in Louisiana. A lifelong writer of fiction, she has recently published her first novel. She hopes to explore poetry writing more frequently in the future.