the world’s greatest superstar

how does it make you feel?
you, at the center of our attention
we deny your very existence, spend billions campaigning
you're not our offspring
denial saves our status quo

we dedicate entire careers unravelling your mysteries
you seem to have joy, relentlessly, in keeping them to yourself
only to surprise us with another unexpected mechanism
we protest, feel worried, take action
we're skeptics, activists, childless
all because of you

the world's greatest superstar
without ever doing a half-time performance
red-carpet photographers travel the world to capture you
no posters on bedroom walls
showing global warming in neon-colored capitals
or glowing in the dark extinction
and yet, it is like I know you personally

you embrace every aspect
you determine what I eat, wear,
how I commute, where I travel, how long I shower
whether my children will survive here
our need to colonize space
how many first responders die
while future VR-millionaires cash-in on showing what once was: life

how does it make you feel, my superstar
this attention of billions?


Notes


This poem explores the all-encompassing ‘superstar’ status of global warming. 


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