Writers Jam

How could you just keep silent and stand there?
I'm walking through the streets, snippets of conversations diffusing through smoggy air.
I get a whiff of complaints from school fees to auto fares,
Hoarse and irritated voices raving about what's unfair.

Temperatures and water levels are rising, but you got time to spare,
Ranting about petty little grievances,
Haggling for menial prices, secretly handing out bribes.
But the moment we decided to put finite values on our lives,
That's the moment when our infinite souls died.

Now will you consider if what I'm asking is too much?
No matter what you answer, it will never be enough.
Enough of packed schedules and getting squeezed in the morning rush,
Our creativity gets burned out and our dreams get crushed.

Our self worth is inextricably tied to our (inter)net worth,
They're banking on us to get too invested,
In our bonds and mutual funds and get-rich-quick efforts,
We need to pour in capital back into the humanity sector.

You're sitting, looking at your phone, keeping your head down,
Laughing at the circus, looking for who's next to clown, spill the matcha chai latte on,
You'd rather cancel someone online than cancel your OTT subscriptions,
Watching generic slop to keep your chipmunk brain distracted,
The algorithm to your submission is stolen personal-data driven.

Now will you consider if what I'm asking is too much?
No matter what you answer, it will never be enough.