You step up to the podium, spotlight in your eyes

You step up to the podium, spotlight in your eyes Polished little speech about your noble sacrifice Hashtag halo glowing, camera loves the view Preaching from a throne nobody handed you You say it’s for the people, say it’s for the cause But you’re measuring your mercy by the applause Just say thank you for your little award Take your picture, strike a chord We don’t need your virtue signaling Wrapped up in a shiny ring Keep your sermon short and true ’Cause honestly, you have no clue Just say thank you for your little award And leave it at the door You talk about the struggle like you wrote the book Read a single headline, say you took a look Wearing borrowed outrage like it’s something new Selling us a story we can see right through You say it’s all awareness, say it’s all for change But it sounds rehearsed and strange Just say thank you for your little award Take your picture, strike a chord We don’t need your virtue signaling Every word so glittering If you really cared, you’d do Instead of acting like you knew Just say thank you for your little award Don’t make it something more You don’t have to save the world tonight You don’t have to set it right No manifesto, no grand parade No borrowed fire, no masquerade A simple “thanks” would do just fine Without the grand design It’s not that we don’t care It’s not that we’re unaware But honesty is rare And we can feel the air Just say thank you for your little award No need to climb aboard A trending wave you barely knew Just to make it all about you If you mean it, prove it true We’ll be watching what you do Just say thank you for your little award And let the silence speak Spotlight fades, curtain call Sometimes the loudest truth says nothing at all.