Mom, I am here, right here
Mom, I want to talk to you
I have been thinking a lot lately
Thinking about you and me, about the world, you know?
I have questions, a lot of them, to you, to them
So many questions, can I ask them?
Mom, I have been confused lately, very confused
Mom, I don’t think I understand, it doesn’t make sense
The ways of the world have become incomprehensible
The ways are unclear to me, fog is clouding my mind
Practice kindness, they say, be kind, be generous, be wise, they say
They are unkind and greedy and stupid
The message is unclear, so hypocritical, so human
Mom, I want to know the truth, all of it
Mom, do not hide this from me, tell me
I am no longer your little girl, the world has caught up to me
The world can be so very loud and persuasive, hard to ignore
My books are no longer about dragons and heroes but villains and politicians
The story has been told, reality has arrived, the end
So let me ask you these questions
What is this? This noise? This growling and screeching
They talk but I don’t think I want to listen anymore
Lies drip from their mouth, drip, drip, dripping onto the people
I hear what they say, I promise you, they say, I promise you
Promise us what, but they don’t follow up
What is this? This smell, so rotten and draining
Our world is decaying in front of our eyes, it’s fine, they say
Broken dreams everywhere we step, thrown in the trash, moulding away
I smell what they sow, the harvest will be plenty, they promise
A harvest for them, we’ll get the scraps
What is this? This greasy, slimy feeling on my hands
The wind is coming from the sea, bringing news of the latest excavation
The salty wind no longer leaves memories on my skin, only plastic
The feeling of riches and power has swept over them like a wave of destruction
What is this? This poisonous, bitter taste in my mouth
The words have changed colour to toxic green and sickly yellow
We swallow their vows for a better world, like a stone dropping in our stomach
They talk, we get sick, they promise, we throw up
Greed has taken over, they tasted blood and we will pay
What is this? What am I looking at, mother? You told me stories about hedgehogs and mice being friends
Cats and birds saying each other good night, harmony was the moral
I no longer see those tales in my mind’s eye, replaced by pictures in the news
Their eyes convey nothing while their smile pierces through my skin
Mom, I wanted to know the truth, all of it
Mom, you hesitated but you told me