Cracks in the Culture Deck

Lyrics

The Culture Deck hangs by a pin The plastic's worn, the slogans thin "Integrity. Respect. Empowerment." The ink has faded, meaning's spent

We used to quote it line by line Now no one looks. We just align It's still displayed. It's still on file We just stopped reading it awhile

There's a crack in the Culture Deck A tear between the words and their effect They preach inclusion, cut in waves Say "You're a leader" on your grave The values shimmer, soft and fake Just pretty frosting on the break You hear the talk. You know the trick Culture's just... a PowerPoint click

They dropped a deck from somewhere bright Full of words that sounded right But roots don't grow on mirrored glass And slogans fade too fast

You can't plant Eskimo belief In desert grief The map they drew don't match our ground So nothing grows-but we pretend it's found

You can't print truth and tape it up You can't declare what's never grown Culture isn't copy-paste It's what we do when we're alone It's not your vision. Not your deck It's what survives your cuts and checks The words you frame won't save your name When all we feel is not the same

There's a crack in the Culture Deck A loss of trust and no respect You told us truth, then changed the frame We stayed the same-you sold the name You sold us vision, sold us pride Then watched us vanish side by side What's left ain't culture, mission, brand- Just faded ink And empty hands