cheddar

"Say cheese!"
here we go with the artificial smiling again
exercising our face muscles for another cosmetic compliment
they claimed it as candid, so everybody did
but the smile never reached your eyes

why do we even smile in pictures?
if they're supposed to capture a memory
why do we pose?
making babies laugh before the flash seconds before they cry
producing the perfect moment and printing it
framing it
and hanging it
the walls pleaded me not to

most of us choose to read fiction over nonfiction
and actors get paid for being something they're not
we beliddle others because we remain anonymous
yet here we are starting wars and rumors of wars
whether it be in our streets or on our television screens
it is the same

and all this time the light leaking from the windows never reached the plant
so it died
because the blinds filtered out what it needed to hear
and photos in the magazines didn't have the photosynthesis it needed

I'm climbing on rooftops because I can't see the stars
with all the pollution and commotion and alterations to this nation
that was once so great

The silence burns holes through me
my heart has so much to say
but my ribs pledged to my brain and instead it stays hostage inside of me
and I want to let freedom ring
but the pencil keeps breaking in my hand
like my fingers are stronger than the words on the page
and the picture never developed

can't we all just be real for a second?
real doesn't have to be sad, but real has to be honest
can we cry without worrying about where the water falls
can I tell my father I love him or is it too late?
can we stop the world from poisoning the next generation?
we can do anything
but we won't
because humanity went extinct before I was born
because sacrifice never was a fool's paradise
and we all just keep smiling for the camera.