Fred Rogers was a gardener of young minds
Planting seeds with greenthumbed assurance
Calmly waiting for nature to take its course
Never in a rush
Like we are mostly
Not wanting to plant seeds but buy hothoused plants
Already grown
Not wanting to learn lessons of experience
Or experience small attempts of repetitive failure
Since we’ve learned to value self-esteem above wisdom
Which isn’t very wise
Or even as smart as we think
But then again, how many of us take the time to think
Instead we short circuit nature through shortcuts
Too busy to observe reality
So we live in delusional fantasies
Where we think buying a floral bouquet makes us green
Or self-absolve our collective guilt through signing online petitions
All the while contributing to this excessive consumerism
This insanity that’s driving us to the edge
Which we don’t see because of that delusional mindset we bought into
So we don’t hit the brakes
When the lemmings up ahead cliffjump into annihilation
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood
David Trudel © 2013
Prompted by this PBS Digital Studios remix of Fred Rogers:
In The Garden Of Your Mind
Fred Rogers was a gardener of young minds
Planting seeds with greenthumbed assurance
Calmly waiting for nature to take its course
Never in a rush
Like we are mostly
Not wanting to plant seeds but buy hothoused plants
Already grown
Not wanting to learn lessons of experience
Or experience small attempts of repetitive failure
Since we’ve learned to value self-esteem above wisdom
Which isn’t very wise
Or even as smart as we think
But then again, how many of us take the time to think
Instead we short circuit nature through shortcuts
Too busy to observe reality
So we live in delusional fantasies
Where we think buying a floral bouquet makes us green
Or self-absolve our collective guilt through signing online petitions
All the while contributing to this excessive consumerism
This insanity that’s driving us to the edge
Which we don’t see because of that delusional mindset we bought into
So we don’t hit the brakes
When the lemmings up ahead cliffjump into annihilation
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood
David Trudel © 2013
Prompted by this PBS Digital Studios remix of Fred Rogers:
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Tagged as blank verse, creativity, dystopia, Fred Rogers, free verse, In the garden of your mind, inspiration, lemmings, metaphor, modern life, Mr. Rogers, poetry, self-esteem, shortcuts, social activism, social commentary, tranquility, wisdom