Unplug Me

Open your eyes, look around, what do you see
Truth is obfuscated by a false reality
Imaginary towers scrape the skies in my mind
As the real world's wonders lie forgotten behind

My mind holds a palace filled with smoke and mirrors
A fusion of illusions, things less clear
The make-believe stuff in my life trips me up
Believe you me, I'm not making this up

I conform to norms, I fulfil expectations
I'm a brick in the wall, aware of obligations
I'm born into a world filled with complications
Where we don't get no explanations

So connected, yet never so dispersed
Unchecked metaverses will only make it worse
I don't need to be coerced for me to move in reverse
I'm checking out from everything that's had me so immersed

I work to make money for my rent and my food
And to save for a rainy day when things won't be as good
I've been sold a dream I need to climb a ladder
The slower I climb, I'm supposed to get sadder

Being a hamster on a wheel, feels like a big deal
A life full of toil has mass appeal, made ideal
By conventions that shun contrarian thoughts
Tensions amplify, make me distraught

When I think of how I feel about which way I wanna go
I ask around, for answers I am desperate to know
What should I gun for, that one magic number
To build up in my bank, when done for peaceful slumber

No more encumbered, pushing rocks up a hill
I will tread on the grass, not run the treadmill
I'm too old for new tricks, leave it all behind
Unplug me, free my mind

My place on this earth is an accident of birth
I pledge occasional allegiance for what it's worth
How can a piece of fabric demand loyalty
How can a language, a government, some royalty

Have us all rally around for common cause
This relationship has more risks than reward
Humans draw imaginary borders on maps
Causes chaos, not order, yet we pat our own backs

A world where all of us are sisters and brothers
Is a distant dream when we group by colours
Some nations are more equal than others
Which is why so many are left to suffer

You seem like the type that likes stereotypes
Try to spot the leopards, can't change their stripes
Nationalism can put your head on a spike
It's a little too soon to forget the Third Reich

I choose to travel to places on a must-visit list
Insist that I'd eat at top places or be pissed
Get my boxers in a twist, this belief would persist
About a life I felt was owed but was one that I missed

I'd do things and expect to be thanked and be praised
On not getting gratitude, I'd feel dismayed
Feel like I was played, I wanted it made in the shade
From a second-rate state, I craved an upgrade

Put up my filtered pics for you to see and like
Shared my words of wisdom for a resume spike
Quote tweet, gained brownie points when I punched down
See me on my soapbox, I'm self-crowned

I'm afraid of doom scrolling in my offline existence
Conforming and I maintain a healthy distance
Resistance is tough, yet I will do it in style
Let go of society's norms with a smile

Lost in thought with a pen, looking for my next line
At the same time, my phone began to chime
I dropped my quest, I just had to see
This notification calling out to me

Each time it vibrates or makes a sound
It's a call to my arms, it's unlocked, then I'm bound
I can't be found, I'm down the rabbit hole
My attention stolen, I'm not in control

Life is boxed by the sheen of a new routine
It passes by in between hits of dopamine
You remain unseen cause I'm glued to my screen
I've been welcomed warmly to the machine

On each visit, something new to do
No wonder my phone is more important than you
What did you say, go away, let me be
You say this thing I own, now it owns me

I suspend disbelief, I blend in for relief
Prevent from being ostracized, avoid a little grief
Realize the power of made up lies
Feel surprised, open my eyes, no more denial

I stopped chasing after the windmills of the gods
Quixotic pursuits, obviously at odds
Was the logical line so far it's like a dot
Was the bush that was burning made of, you know what

Curiosity is critical, it can't be martyred
At religion's altar, we need to get smarter
and kinder for our kinder, why is it so odd
Can't we be good people in the absence of a god

The only miracles that I will believe in
Come from science and progress, give meaning
Deify delusion as divine I'm done
Organized religion is no longer any fun

I contemplate, returning to the cave
Embracing decadence all the way to my grave
Should I waive my choices, should I cave
Can I face myself giving in to what I crave

Do it by the book, if no one is there to look
What if I want to win by hook or crook
What if I conform, forsake uniqueness
What if you mistook my kindness for weakness

How can I decide if what I'm doing is right
Set aside my pride, move closer to the light
Despite convictions, my notions can be wrong
Make my ego zero, that's how to stay strong

Protect boundaries, draw my lines with a chalk
I may not be an island, nor am I a rock
Put up my defence, though my armour has kinks
Unplug me from the way the world feels and thinks

I used to love love, I'm not cynical or jaded
I loved "Love, Actually", that love is now faded
Upgraded, clinical as it sounds
With the right kind of interest, my love compounds

Mark my words, I've found things can get dark
If you search for a spark for the sake of hallmark
Instead of at critics, if you swipe at lovers
You might lose the power to uncover

How grown up love is of a different kind
You fly in blind, it's not well defined
Sometimes sublime, by our powers combined
We choose to have our destinies intertwined

Love so deep and profound is not a zero-sum game
What became of the other pictures in the frame
If the ties that bind will have me confined
For matters of the heart, I'm beat, flatlined

No life that I know of gave consent to be born
Does it surprise you that I feel scorn
At existence and everything we go through
Winging it, pretending though we don't have a clue

Death provides a choice, it's like an off switch
It cuts out the noise, ends things without a hitch
No sorrow, no joy, no tomorrow in which
Hopes and dreams are destroyed for the poor and the rich

Every single thing you know is doomed to decay
Don't assume what we have will last forever and a day
Flowers bloom and wilt, so does beauty and youth
You pull out all the stops. Full stop. That's your truth

Different journeys, same final destination
Our ephemeral lives spent chasing salvation
What if I use a shortcut to cut it short
Here's a thought. From all of these thoughts, I shall abort

The human sense of wonder combined with defiance
Of what is status quo gave birth to science
Form a tenuous alliance with truths renewed
The eternal quest for knowledge we pursue

What does life mean, what is our why
Do we learn, do we thrive or just give up and die
Is it pointless or must we try and deny
Defy all odds with a will to survive

I'm not a skeptic, my thoughts are not eclectic
I'll keep things simple, keep them authentic
If I ever encounter someone supreme
I'll ask her to answer the question of my dreams

My imagination needs a little inspiration
And in my situation I have one clarification
What's the real deal, can we have an explanation
Is this yellow submarine all just a simulation

A mind without fear, a head held high
Is free and clear and wise and fly
Not tied nor steered by imaginary stuff
With clarity and courage to know it's had enough

Knowing that, is one of life's greatest joys
I cut out the noise, find my voice, I rejoice
With more space, with more time, I get to play each day
Pick illusions I like, make the rest go away

At the risk of sounding wise, I have some advice
It applies to life and to all it can comprise
Devise all the lies that can fit so nice
Make everything about your world a paradise

Stop to breathe, to look, to wonder, to learn
Stop and smile, read a book under the sun, don't be stern
Start being happy, being brave, being kind
Love and curiosity can free your mind