schooled to believe

we are schooled to believe

our deepest passions and truths

are unworthy

because they can’t be

commodified 

[though that is 

a lie—

we can manifest 

wild possibility

when dreams have the wings

to fly]

we are schooled to believe

the only skills 

worth cultivating

are the ones that can be

commercialized 

we are schooled to believe

that centering joy and creation

for pure delight

is a waste of time

in all this schooling

we lose touch with what

makes us human

our unique fingerprint

smudged away

for a more uniform approach—

predictability 

knowing ourselves is replaced

with survival strategy

meeting the demands

of those with more power

we doubt ourselves

our intuitions

our desires

our lives

devoid of meaning

devoid of truth—

death transpires