Trilogy — See - Care - Act

Class assignment 10/23 -Trilogy/Spoken Word Template   

Part I

“Do We See?”

Spoken Word Freestyle template

Written by Adena M’lynn

Do we see —

or do we just look?

Because there’s a difference.

Looking is quick,

seeing is costly.

We walk past people

like they’re scenery,

like pain belongs only to strangers,

like hunger and homelessness

don’t wear familiar faces.

Do we see the woman

counting her change at the register,

or just the line behind her growing impatient?

Do we see the child

quiet in the corner —

not shy, but afraid —

because home ain’t safe?

We’ve trained our eyes

to edit out discomfort.

We blur the parts of humanity

that don’t fit our feed.

But the eyes of the soul —

they see what the world hides.

They see exhaustion

behind polite smiles,

broken dreams

in grocery store aisles,

tears that never make it to daylight.

Do we see our neighbors

or just the numbers?

Do we see the need

or just the nuisance?

When Jesus saw, He wept.

When we see, we scroll.

Maybe seeing

is the first act of revolution.

Because once you see —

you can’t unsee.

And once you can’t unsee —

you must care.

So do we see…

really see?

Part II

“Do We Care?”

Spoken Word Freestyle template 

Written by Adena M’lynn

Do we care enough

to sit through the same story —

for the hundredth time —

because trauma doesn’t know how to wrap itself neatly

in new words every week?

Do we care?

Really — do we care?

Enough to listen —

not just hear —

not just nod on cue like empathy’s on a timer

and we’ve hit the limit for compassion today?

Or do we just scroll past pain

the same way we scroll past ads

for things we can’t afford to feel anymore?

We say, “I understand.”

But do we?

Do we understand the weight

of replaying a wound

to an audience who’s already

half out the door?

Some people don’t want your solution.

They just want your stillness.

Your silence —

not the kind that ignores,

but the kind that holds.

Do we care enough

to let someone finish their sentence

without editing their grief

into something more convenient

for our comfort?

I get it.

The world is loud.

The news burns holes in our hearts

faster than we can patch them.

But care —

real care —

isn’t measured by grand gestures.

It’s in the tiny pauses

between one word and the next —

the moment we choose not to look away.

Do we care?

Or do we just perform caring —

polished empathy

for social media applause?

Maybe caring now

looks like slowing down.

Turning the volume down

on our own story

long enough to hear

someone else’s truth.

Because the truth is —

we all want to be heard,

but few of us want to do the hearing.

So I’ll ask again,

not as a poet —

not as a psychologist—

not as a preacher —

but as a person:

Do we care…

really?

Part III

“Do We Act?”

Spoken Word Freestyle template 

Written by Adena M’lynn

Do we act —no
or do we applaud those who do,
so we feel a little less guilty.

We light candles,
we post hashtags,
we wear ribbons —
but the world doesn’t change
on symbolism alone.

Caring is easy.
Seeing is harder.
But acting —
acting costs something.

It costs time.
It costs comfort.
It costs ego.

When was the last time
we stood up for someone
with nothing to gain?
When was the last time
we risked being wrong
just to be human?

The truth is —
change doesn’t happen
in conference rooms or campaigns.
It happens
when ordinary people
do inconvenient things
for someone who can’t repay them.

Do we act —
when the story isn’t ours?
Do we speak
when the silence benefits us?

The world is waiting
for less performance
and more participation.
Less talk.
More touch.
Less pity.
More presence.

Maybe this is where care becomes love —
when it moves its feet.