Dare

I dare you
to love me

just the way I am.

And I surrender
to the charge
that we were
always guilty.

Guilty of our innocence.

But never the same
since our self interest
turned us against
our neighbors

for no greater reason
than our ignorance.

Manipulated by the
power hungry hoarders
of exploitation.

The machine of fear.

The disparities between
the careless and those who care.

You dip your hands
in this rich earth and
you pay your tithes
to the industry.

And we adhere
to your ministry.

Yet by a different name
we are the corporal
matter and fact
of our existence.

And it's plain to see
we determine the course
of this industry.

Habits are choices
made repeatedly.

I dare you
to see it differently.

I dare you
to love me

just the way I am.

And I surrender
to the fact
that we were
always guilty.

Guilty of our innocence.

But never the same
since our self interest
turned us against
our neighbors

for no greater reason
than our ignorance.

A transactional culture.

Everything at a price.

What a price.