Fandango’s One Word Challenge – Moderate (in Italics)
A Witness
Still, in the aftermath of societies mayhem
Alone, in the silence of apathetic replies
A child smiles at the gift of bubble gum
A woman cries for the ones who died
Afraid of facing facts from the fiction
Too shy to accept the truth from the reviews
Acceptance, acknowledgement, recognition
Self-aggrandizing, is a clue
Though it is hidden by hate and ridicule
Still, in from the mouth of muted screams
Alone, in the dark of cancel speech
A moderator tries to find resolution
A priest prays for those who demoralize
Gratitude swells on the apex of growth
Grief tends to linger at the signal of loss
Acceptance, acknowledgement, accountability
Self-evaluation, is the cure
Though it is rife with community alienation
Still, hope lives in the reminder of yesterdays
Alone, in the face of technologies rapid acclaim
A writer still writes, a photographer still sees
A people still live, in the land of the free
I am but a witness of these times
A bystander trying to rhyme with her lines
She writes what she sees and lives
Creatively born through artistic expression
Though it is hidden from the willfully blind
Rebecca R. Grusendorf © 5.18.2023
Is it Real or Fantasy 