Inner-Dialogue Poem by Joan Marques

Hello, my peaceful right hemisphere,
I've come to visit you again, my dear
After a day of measuring in endless trance
Ensuring ongoing improvement and excellence
Progress, competition, and the bottom-line
I can feel the stress running up my spine

Here's a world where all that may count
Is whether our annual reports are sound
Where, in spite of all the media, no one sees
The suffering of humans, animals, and trees
Instead of addressing those troubles today
We simply prefer to measure all the way

We've elevated the frivolous to a serious trend
And reduced the serious to almost non-existent
We are changing many things - year after year
But not all for wellness of the living, I fear
We rather focus on a haughty performance ride
While inner-peace is on a downward slide