I'm Not Woke — I'm Watching Poem by Rue Palmer

I'm not woke,
I'm watching.
Watching what we've become,
and wondering where we lost
what our fathers knew.

They had less,
but somehow built more.
Less money,
less technology,
less opportunity at the door—
yet they understood
the value of education,
family, discipline,
and giving your children more.

Now we have information
flying through the air,
a thousand answers
waiting everywhere—
but having knowledge
doesn't mean you're wise,
and having a voice
doesn't mean you're right.

I look at other cultures
building what they came to build,
buying homes,
creating businesses,
teaching their children
to carry the torch.

And I ask myself:

What happened to us?

When did struggle
become an excuse
instead of a reason
to rise?

When did blaming others
become easier
than correcting ourselves?

I'm not saying we're less.
I'm saying we can do more.

And if that truth makes me uncomfortable,
good.

Maybe discomfort
is where honesty begins.

I refuse to hate my people
by pretending everything is fine.
Real love doesn't always praise you—
sometimes it looks you in the eye
and tells you the truth.

Our ancestors didn't survive
for us to become prisoners
of yesterday.

They handed us a foundation.

Now it's our turn to build.

I'm not woke.

I'm awake.

And I'm asking the question
nobody wants to answer:

If we know better today,
why aren't we doing better
than yesterday?