Breaking news at 6, the notifications start their attack Thirty seconds later, profile pictures turning black She's already typing paragraphs about a place she's never been "My heart is breaking" from her apartment across the map He's searching for the right emoji, settling on a candle and a dove Repost the info graphic, that's close enough to love Two hours in, the essays start appearing in the feeds "This hit close to home" from someone five states away The GoFundMe pages multiply, gotta sell that sympathy She's sharing hotline numbers she will never call today He's posting "Use your platform" while his platform sells detox tea The grief police are making rounds, checking who's performing properly Puh-puh-perform for me, please~ What a spectacular ceremony of caring What a beautiful performance we're all sharing Documenting grief for prosperity Such a wonderful display of viral sympathy Viral sympathy Display of viral sympathy Viral sympathy Display of viral sympathy Such a wonderful display of viral sympathy Day three and now it's personal "This triggered something deep in me" She writes four paragraphs about her own unrelated trauma He's doing therapy speak in the comments "Processing my feelings about this collective tragedy" Meanwhile the victims' names scroll past, forgotten in the performance There's a woman calling out her friend for insufficient sadness "Your silence speaks volumes," quote-tweeted with aggression A man is live-streaming tears he's forcing for the camera The mourning has become a competitive profession Who's most affected? Who can claim the closest connection? The tragedy Olympics, judge my pain, rate my expression Ruh-ruh-rate me, please! What a spectacular ceremony of caring What a beautiful performance we're all sharing Documenting grief for prosperity Such a wonderful display of viral sympathy Viral sympathy Display of viral sympathy Viral sympathy Display of viral sympathy Such a wonderful display of viral sympathy Week two, the posts are slowing down Week three, back to regular content now Week four, another tragedy arrives And we begin again We begin We begin We begin a-a-again The algorithm demands grief So give it to us please What a spectacular ceremony of caring What a beautiful performance we're all sharing Documenting grief for prosperity Such a wonderful display of viral sympathy Say your thoughts, type your prayers, press send We'll forget all about this by next weekend Documented grief for prosperity Such a wonderful display of viral sympathy Viral sympathy Display of viral sympathy Viral sympathy Display of viral sympathy Such a wonderful display of viral sympathy
