Suddenly, the world changed
But we all stayed the same
I took a look out the window
And I saw the same thing

People were out and about
People were driving around
People were buying things
As they dragged their children
Around
On leashes

People were watching other people
Acting like real people
On a little box

People were listening
To music
Created for people to like
They ate food created for people to like
Their entire culture told them
What was ok to eat
And what they should not
For whatever reason

People were outside
Believing the street signs
The people would believe
Damn near everything
Just as long as it was on a big sign somewhere
And simple enough for them to read
Too complex
And they wouldn’t understand

People would believe
Anything they heard
Coming from a tiny box in their car
They believed the words of their favorite musicians
(The ones who played music designed for them to like)
They believed anything that the government said
They believed the news
And the newspapers

People were digging up the ground
And burying their dead
Deep below the earth
People were selling the people expensive boxes
To the alive people
For the dead people

People were gathering with their family
Only during certain, specified days

People were giving people gifts
That were going to break in a year

People dressed in clothes
That were made from oil
People sat on things that were made from oil
People practically drank
And breathed
And bathed in oil
Because the government told them to

That day. That one single day
When the world changed
Nobody noticed a thing
Because the billboards didn’t change
And the stoplights were still operational
Their music was entertaining
Like always
And the oil still ran through their bloodstream

But I saw what happened
From the window
The open window
In a field of lies