Hidden Jewels.

In a culture that teaches us
to shape up or shape out,
we'd trade anything to stay ahead.

Everyday is a contest.
And your neighbours become
your rivals.

Life becomes a competition.
Stress is a common word.

It seems, to win,
we must always be outstanding,
if you can't,
at least appear to be outstanding.

There's a tribe that
does so
by overdressing themselves.

With money and effort,
pretty people are common.
Where they are,
we notice.

What more about those
who are so decorated
we look,
and look again.
We'd even buy their images in print
from newsstands.


It seems,
to get attention,
you need to be complicated to stay ahead.
Like an onion,
the more layers, the better.

But there's another tribe
that stands in the shadows cast
by the limelight-people.

They are a tribe whose people are dispersed
like islands,
shuffling by the sides
or shoved to the corner.

They have no clue
about glitz and glamour.

They're either overlooked, forgotten or
frowned upon.

But I challenge you to
take a second glance.

Choose to wait another moment.
Anyway, they hardly have any layers.
They don't bother putting on masks.

You don't have to analyse much.
What they say is what they mean.
Nothing in between the lines.

Simplicity has become a rarity.
And with people like these,
what refreshment they bring.

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