Obsolete Program Poem by Joan Marques

We’re programmed to compete
Against our sisters and brothers
We’re programmed to get ahead
At the dreadful expense of others
We’re programmed to wish
Bad luck upon our rival
We’re programmed to think
That superiority equals revival

We’re programmed to develop
Ego’s with gigantic sizes
We’re programmed to look down
On everyone who’s in crisis
We’re programmed to chase wealth
And achieve it at any cost
We’re programmed to build walls
That help us to get others lost

We’re programmed to march along
In a parade we may not even like
We’re programmed to accept
That our life’s a hopeless hike
We’re programmed to tolerate
Hierarchies, in-groups, and strife
We’re programmed to favor
A dollar over the rescue of a life

We’re programmed to ignore
That we’re firmly conditioned
We’re programmed to believe
That we’re immovably positioned
We’re programmed to think
That this is all there is
We’re programmed not to question
Whether anything’s amiss

But if we really want
We can escape this mental penitentiary
That was a dark-aged invention
And doesn’t work in the 21st century
It’s time for increased awareness
To turn the tide of annihilation
And lead us back on the path
Of mutual respect and salvation