there's poetry in watching a war go on over tik tok live
thousands of miles away fighting to survive

there's poetry in hashtag calls for help
sending prayers for those running with nothing but rags

there's poetry in arguing on how to assign the blame
rather than using that energy to devise ways to help

there's poetry in finding all the wrong focuses
forgetting that what's happening on TV
and what we're watching on tiktok
and what the memes are parodying

is all real.
is not a fiction.
is not a dystopian fantasy.

there are people dying
and we ponder who to blame more often than we ponder how to help

i think there's poetry in that