Mind Plaque
by Odin Roark

In a world of quasi-existential brain tampering
Would that we could floss and brush our minds
Not of innocent often inane wanderings
But of holier-than-though proselytizing
Someone else’s idea of what is right and wrong
True and false

Whether hammered from lecterns
By politicians
Clergy
Media
Or teachers
Our craniums are bombarded
By those who would have us frequent their ideology and service
To chew on and imbibe their version
Of a healthier cycle of habit
Not every six months
But each and every day 24/7

But unlike the dentist
These other practitioners of invasive persuasion
Opt not to X-ray our mouths
But our brains

Such persons are bent on determining
How benign or terminal
Our intake of acquired information
Then counterblast a self-righteous retort
Often preaching their supreme remedy
A moral-implant replacement

So…

When next we hear the sound
You know
That familiar glad hand greeting
Of someone bellowing “their” quintessential solution
Escape to an environment of autonomous inquiry
Where another’s imperative receives no empirical status
Over our need to determine thinking-hygiene for ourselves

After all…

A life of questioning
Has forever trumped
The sureness of someone else’s
Hand-me-down answer

Mind plaque
The buildup of complacency
The decaying of reason