chains of belief

a poem

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

Living in the world with innumerable
Talking heads, influencers, politicians, 
Preachers, and other charlatans

We find ourselves told time and again
That we cannot possibly be happy as we are
They say that They alone can fix us

Hoping for an end to our adversity
We set a goal for inner peace
And persevere through our pain

We listen when They tell us to
Outgrow our inner obstacles -
They speak so confidently

We take a chance They might know
And so forge yet another link in the chain
Shackling us in the dungeon of
Their idea of Freedom

I wore those chains myself
Some links do still cling
But seeing the shackles
Is the key to unlocking them

I still find locks opening each by asking
Is it true or something They want you to think
Because it keeps you quiet, complacent?

By challenging what They say
With questions of why?
And why not?

And if They can’t answer
As They seldom can
Then finding those answers elsewhere

People have been living for millinia
Are our questions now truly so different
That They didn’t struggle with them as well?

Archimedes said give him a lever
And a place to stand
And he could move the earth

If Archimedes could move the earth
Perhaps we can move Them
We just need a place to Stand

Like the shoulders of those who have come before us
And our own power to think for ourselves
With tools like these, They might move

One thought, one question, one stand at a time