On the Spot

i wanted to say something profound
but i caught myself
they already said everything profound
and in so many ways, all had sufficed
the only brilliance left was in lies
but who wants to listen to lies?
i think an unconscious part of us
absolutely loves the sweet ones
but i don't like any of them, ever
not even during that split second
reaction time before thinking

so instead, i got behind the podium
and gave it honest and short
no long words or wordplay
just a jab
the brilliance in simplicity
always had amazed me
somehow it didn't them

some of them were disgusted
some of them booed
some of them coughed
and glanced at their watches
others clapped out of habit
a small din that faded quicker
than it had come

i'd like to say i didn't care
or i don't care
but i couldn't help it
had those five words come out wrong?
had i stressed the wrong syllables?
did i announce it with an unseemingly
sarcastic tinge?
i didn't know
maybe my opinion was flat out wrong
maybe it was just an opinion
just an opinion?
an unpopular one at that
i still don't know

and i thought about that saying
people like these days:
"liberty means the right to say things
that nobody wants to hear"
and in ways it was against all i stood for
but ultimately
it made complete sense

the grandmaster gave me a sympathetic
pat on the back as i walked off the stage
disillusioned but no longer doubting
no more one-liners, i thought
more speeches