Deciphering Maps Manufactured by Mice

Scampering about like rats in a maze
Colorful bells and whistles light the aisle
In rainbow waves of overindulgence
While parental figures struggle in too small seats
Smiling, oblivious to the part they're playing
Materialism breathes heavy on my neck
Dripping warm beads of irony
Down my nape
And I bite my tongue to keep from screaming
At all those who won't hear me anyway
Ears clogged with gold tokens and tv screens
The head cheese does a dance by the door
Throwing paper tickets like bills from an overturned Brink van
And children scatter and scream, scrambling for scraps
Just like their adult counterparts
And people still wonder why we are who we are
Sandwiched between soiled sheets of plastic
Someone's lost their way
And sits frightened high above the crowd
Who rejoices in boisterous laughter at his misfortune
Tears stream down his face like rain over asphalt
Broken, bumpy and disconnected
Snide remarks from the peanut gallery
Offer no comfort to those faces plastered against clear walls
Peering out like goldfish in a round bowl
Their perception of the world, forever altered
Slowly tweaked into something fashionable
Until they can finally swallow
What we've been grooming them for
When they leave their overpriced houses
To drive in their oversized cars
In fancy clothes and forced smiles
To the race no one is winning
Spinning round and round like a gerbil in a cage
Until it dies from the utter exhaustion
Of having to pretend it ever had a choice anyway