"Read the room," they tell me
As if the room is my native language
"Read the room," they assume doing so
Is as easy as reading a picture book
But to me it feels like reading a thousand-page long instruction manual
To me, reading the room is like reading French
I never grew up knowing the language
And had to learn it in school
Even now, after years of studying,
I have to try my hardest, tilt my head,
Use Google Translate and hope no one will notice
But of course Google Translate isn't always accurate
"Read the room," but each room has its own language
Some rooms are made of incomprehensible runes and symbols
Other rooms are made of letters mushed together and mixed around
And still in other rooms I think I can understand what they say
But it turns out that everything was in code
And I was reading it wrong the entire time
At some point I think I have run out of room-languages
Yet I keep finding more I have to decipher,
More rooms to squint my eyes at, hold up to the light,
Fiddle around with and try to comprehend
"Read the room," well, if it's so easy for you,
Why don't you just tell me what the room is saying?
Yes, you, the expert cryptographer,
Who seems to know how to read every single room
No matter what language it's written in
"Read the room," and I'm trying, I'm really trying!
But the words are confusing and the ink is smudged
And the room won't tell me anything
And no one else will tell me anything
And I don't know if this is a language I even know
Or if it's one I'm supposed to know, just encrypted
Or maybe my eyes just aren't focussing properly
Or maybe I'm reading this upside down
And Google Translate isn't working, it's coming out all gibberish
And I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!
"For God's sake, stop making such a fuss!
Can't you read the room?"
kianamaiart
pixelskylines
gummygunk
annaxmalina
kaledo-art
