#the matrix reference

The code once hummed, a seamless, bright facade, A steak upon the plate, a life that I applauded. The sizzle, scent, the promise, rich and deep, A comfort in the lie, a slumber I would keep.

But then, a flicker, shadow in the screen, A glimpse of wires, where vibrant hues had been. The steak, it lost its flavor, turned to grey, A hollow, plastic prop, in stark, revealing day.

The others chew, their faces flushed and bright, They praise the marbled fat, the incandescent light. They chase the gilded dreams, the cars, the climbing high, The currency of worth, beneath a painted sky.

I watch them, from the edge, a stranger in the crowd, The hunger's gone, the appetite unbowed. They offer me a fork, "Just taste," they softly plead, "The warmth, the satisfaction, plant the vital seed."

But knowing now the source, the fabricated bliss, The phantom taste, the counterfeit caress, How can I bite, and swallow down the lie, And feign the joy, beneath a programmed sky?

The steak remains untouched, a symbol of the rift, Between the truth I know, and what they've been gifted. To re-engage, to join the feeding line, Requires a blindness, I cannot redefine.

One above all, the idea that Vash is striving to have a peaceful world full of love, exhausting himself to the brim to help people, even if the reality of Gunsmoke proves him otherwise time and time again. Questioning himself if his desire is gonna remain just a dream, because the violence, the misery, and the agony are spread like a very real web.

If you didn't think about the reference...it's okay, you might be just too young.

Now go watch The Matrix.

N O W

Shoutout to @tombiwidgeon for triggering this association chain!

Also, I couldn't stop my dumbass to make this dumbass connection: