I’m at a human fair-
Shopping people–

I go through lists of their properties-
Shouting some flashy names-
Written on some labels-
Which may not be true-
But which are perfectly designed:

-Diverse artistic views-
-Splendour of looks-
-Expensive status symbols-
-Originality of decadence-

-Profound wisdom of a higher mind-
-Diplomas, travels, read and written books-
-Perfection in a sense of style and humour-
-Conquering of some exotic mounts-

-Diving in glory-
-Philosophising-
-Purchasing trumpery-
-Committing suicides-

-Perversion of what counts-
-In countless romantic stories-
-Finding the cure from them-SELVES-
-In sticking noses into someone else’s lives-

-In paper mockery-
-In fashionable burn-out syndromes-
-In narcissisms on Face-Books, Twit-ters, Insta-grams-
-In competitions for illusionary “likes”–

I pick up people‘s manuals-
I study them-
I put them down and then I go for sales!
I won’t pay any extras-
That act a part in someone else’s game-

Their worth exists in hope-
To find some sense-
In justifying what they seem-

I take a pencil and I write a check-
“This masquerade has just one name: LOW SELF-ESTEEM”—

© Dalia Lane