Shoe boxes

What are we doing?
What are we doing here?

The people we see in the streets
are not the people that exist.
They are only the images in shoe boxes.

Cardboard diorama.
Pin up a play house, a toy car, a necktie.
Paste an advertisement cutout,
a movie quote,
a printout of song lyrics.
And hold it over your face.

It's easy to carry,
and it does the talking.
We don't even need to show our face.
Plus its pretty.
Much prettier than dirt.
We are all just dirt.
Who could love dirt?

What are we doing?
What are we doing here?

Plants do not grow out of plastic,
or cardboard dioramas.
We are more than flimsy cutouts.
People are much more than just who they are.
They are also what they could be.