NaPo 2022 Poetry as Peaceful Protest Prompt Comp

 
Pouring a bucket of ice water on yourself
Swallowing a spoon of cinnamon
Walking over a pyramid of milk crates
Trying to jump over a speeding car
The more ridiculous
The more dangerous the challenge
The more views, likes and comments
I guess for some
Social media is the validation they need

Somewhere along the development of this technology
We lost the sense of human sensitivity
Of connection
Now we’re algorithms and equations
Looking for fifteen minutes of fame

Narcissim creeps in
When the ego is inflated by numbers
By artificial compliments and praises
Beauty then is only seen on the surface
And less by the character and soul

When I hear of little girls with fragile self esteems
    who are hurt by internet trolls – I get mad
Or confused boys pressured into bad behaviors
     by idiots hiding behind screens – I get pissed
But mostly
I get sad at how cruel this world has become

Perhaps we need the kindness challenge
Doing something nice
Something kind
Something generous everyday
Genuinely
Not posting it to social media to gain views
But doing it because it’s heartfelt

And maybe the result will be
A sense of happiness
Of enlightenment
Of accomplishment for the human race

 
We evolve to resolve matters of the mind and heart
Otherwise we would never be able to grow
And those who won’t learn may not be so smart
They choose to stay the same or move really slow
 
There are those who seek knowledge to understand
Expanding their horizons they become clever and wise
Then there are some with their heads in the sand
They lack vision when they try to see with closed eyes
 
How the world worked over a hundred years ago
It’s not the same as what we can do now
Things have advanced and have picked up tempo
And some want to stay the same someway somehow
 
Each day we discover something better or new
Improving the quality of life we can have and lead
While some wish stay with things we all once knew
They see no need to flourish, believe or succeed
 
Some won’t accept change or won’t learn to adapt
They fear the things they don’t understand or recognize
They’re scared in the heart and their souls are trapped
Simply because they don’t know how to empathize
 
If we don’t learn to adjust and change with the times
The world will become strange in just a few blinks
For some will be swept by the tide not seeing the signs
And their kind will slowly become extinct

 
It was then that as the battle was raging on
A strange ship appeared above in the skies
And as all eyes turned upward the fighting stopped
Long enough to be mesmerized by it’s giant sails

A soldier from the north side of no man’s land
Fired a canon round toward the massive vessel
But it seemed that the hull’s shiny chrome and steel
Absorbed the shell as it descended slowly

In fear, both sides turned their fire on the craft
A fury of hell bombarded until smoke blinded them
But still, the ship, without making a sound
Landed without damage in the battle field

One side had dispatched several planes to attack
But just as they released their missiles
Their projectiles disintegrated in midair
Turning to dust, falling on the men like snow

For the next ten months the world stopped fighting
A ceasefire was declared by all nations
As they tried to figure out who the visitors were
Or at least what their intentions would be

And the vessel did not move or open up
It just docked there in that battle field
Like some kind of threat or forewarning
Making the people of earth realize
They were not alone

Meanwhile
Scientists
Politicians
Religious leaders
Military advisers
Many came to the town that had been leveled by the fighting
Surrounded the ship
Admiring it’s design
Wondering who they were and why they were here

After several months of talks
World leaders declared peace
In hopes that the visitors
Would reveal themselves

And as treaties were signed
Humanity celebrated
The then world watched
As the vessel lifted off
Just as quiet and soft like a breeze
Higher and higher into the sky
And once in the upper levels of the atmosphere
With a flash it disappeared
Into the dark of space

Silence can sometimes mean compliance
Then those in power will try to gain more power beyond their reach
And if we don’t speak up against violence
Then what good is our freedom if we don’t exercise our free speech

Even if we are helpless in a situation
Words can carry the weight of humanity for those being oppressed
The voice of the people will be heard
Like thunder it will descend and the issues are sure to be addressed

Sometimes it just takes one person
To be the tipping point to get the masses to see and understand
A few may suffer the consequences
But you bet the multitudes will come in tidal waves to lend a hand

They may think that we are powerless
Or that they dominate us when they have screwed and skewed laws
Well it’s going to be a rude awakening
Because there’s strength in numbers when we take up the cause

 
All my young life I read what I was spoon fed in that little circle
And yet when I went outside that ring, thinking outside the box
The fear was that I was stepping going into dangerous ground
That somehow opening my eyes was going to be some paradox

It was then that I had to put some critical thinking skills to use
Was I lied to or just sheltered by those who only knew what they knew?
Or was their fear a way to keep subjugated to an old dogma ?
But that was slowly changing inside of me as I gradually grew

With knowledge comes power and ownership of the life we lead
We can read and study the greats to give us some inspiration
We become the prophecies and destinies we find within ourselves
Discovering our inner purpose with depth and strong foundation