A voyeur into the lives of others 
I watch as those around me stare in silence 
As my motherland is ravaged 
I am protected 
 
The ennui of the upper class infects me 
Jaded, lethargic 
Jesus, lift me out of my state of torpor 
 
Funny games these are 
As I sit idly by  
The world around me in chaos 
I feel no sense of relief 
 
As I spread the word of Marx with no reproach 
I do not think of those before me 
I do not think of the atrocities of Indonesia 
I do not think of those of Korea 
And I do not think of those of Vietnam 
Thus are the privileges of the bourgeois 
 
I think of my engineering assignment 
I think of my geometry test 
I think of my Spanish quiz 
 
The all-nighters 
Black coffee stains my teeth 
 
When my troubles are over, what to do? 
The knives of my kitchen maintain their edge 
The books all around me collect my shed skin 
 
I rot my eyes with cheesy sitcoms 
Commercials and racist jokes fill my head 
 
As I lay there on the smooth leather 
Fatter, lazier, and dumber 
I find my comfort zone 
 
As I go to my room to reflect on the day 
I weep at my pathetic lifestyle 
The insomnia keeps me up at night 
So I find solace in the songs of the past 
 
As I wake up from my five-hour slumber 
The thoughts of the past are gone 
It’s on to the next day 
 
Are these the thoughts of the exuberant youth 
Or those of another cog in the machine?