Hot Chocolate Mind

The warmth of machine-brewed hot chocolate,

A delightful elixir from a mechanical hum.

The overwhelming sweetness inside whispers,

"Gaze not with your eyes, but with the wisdom of your heart."

Do curtains block the joy sent by the sun?

The magical green sea of leaves

That dazzles your eyes,

Waves through rain-speckled glass,

A great smile upon their branches,

Amidst the murmuring voices of people.

Who truly notices you?

Is it the tree that will stand for centuries,

Or the hurried souls rushing by?

Human bodies everywhere,

Faces missing.

Clad in identical clothes,

As if handed out for free,

All wearing the same brands.

When was the last time you felt

The cold of a stone table beneath your hands?

When did you last inhale the damp, rainy air,

Without question?

When did you last drown in curiosity,

Like a dog thrilled by discovering froglets?

When was the last time you cried

For reasons beyond the reach of words?

When did you envy those lacking the capacity for sympathy?

When did you last covet the luxury

Of their indifference to the world’s pain?

In this world, people are divided by just two things:

The enlightened, whose souls outshine their bodies,

And those who are merely bodies.

Which one are you?

Isn’t everything more than just black and white?

Perhaps humanity finds comfort

In wandering through the greys.

Did you find pleasure

In letting a car, long stuck in traffic, merge ahead of you?

Or was it in flooring the gas,

Denying them, feeling like a “tiny god”?

Was joy found in the countless blooms

You saw on a woman’s face when you complimented her tattoo?

Or did happiness lie in pitying her,

Judging what grief might drive her to such things?

In this life, where every soul climbs

Its steep hills with unique wounds,

Striving to grasp its own truth,

Where everyone has their own version of right—

Did true happiness come to you

When you learned, deep in your bones,

That you have no right to judge?