you caught me by surprise
an entwined mess of pulsing spotlights  

you caught me by surprise
speechless at the hands of your smile

you caught me by surprise
drowned by shores of ovation

you caught me by surprise
over and over and over again
till when our realities cease to exist

This generation
Is obsessed
Begging for an ovation
This nation
Is in preparation
For the worst
But it’s already started
Things have gone south
Into the uncharted
Hard-hearted
That’s what I am
You are
We are
All the phony stars
The famous people
Standing a top their great steeple
They’re not better than us
None of us are
We try
But this world is so bad
It’s enough to make a grown man cry
Grown men cry
Single moms sigh
Because this world is going south
No one trusts
Each other anymore
We ruined this world
Anger swirls
At this world of ashes
From the fire of hate
I hate
This hate
Contradiction.

I hung on, waiting for the final breath
there was nothing.
no standing ovation,
no final crescendo

"Please give a warm round of applause to Miss Phoebe!"

And the crowd drowns the host as they
put their hands to work and legs propel them upward,
all resulting in an overwhelming standing ovation.