Toppling off of the waist-high pedestal I haphazardly placed it upon,
tumbling towards the hard, flat floor
I absent-mindedly worked
as my sweet, little world fell to the ground
and with a simple crash
it broke
right up the center and into
North America
past where New Orleans meets the Gulf.
Broken into a thousand little I's,
what was once an innocent and playful revolution
is now sharp angles of threat
tinged with pieces of faded youth.
Still spinning, though now with labor
and with a force that is less ease, more lumber
less grace, more swagger.
My world is broken.
Its voluptuous circumference now lilts
and wobbles
moored upon an imperfect axis
it still spins, slower this time around
like Jupiter at recess, eager to keep up,
trying to fit in but embarrassingly conspicuous.
Too huge to mistake.
My world is broken.
The first time it happened, I simply sat by
dumbfounded at the utter ridiculousness
of my nonchalant actions
and spellbound that I could allow for such a violence.
My world is broken.
But the copious tears did not fall
for they had already been shed,
and my human heart did not break
for it had long-ago been broken.
No accident, this did not come from out of left field
like a sucker punch to the back,
no, this I watched unfold
this, I played my part
this, I allowed
and now here it is
broken.
And now, here I am
gluing the pieces back together
as though the incident never happened
and pretending as though the past does not exist
but I can not erase my deeds
and I can not magically recall the moment
when I wasn't paying attention
when I chose frivolous folly
over dedicated duty
when I thought I was a mere keeper
a shop owner
of that brilliant blue and green orb
until the other day
when it fell to the ground
taking with it
the heaviness of my mistakes
and breaking open
mysteriously revealing a gold tinged music box
at its heart.
Its tune remains, the refrain the same
it goes:
"There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all
We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change...
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me."
--"We Are the World" by Michael Jackson
