Public opinion

This interchangeable mood

In the dark, it is dark

In the light, the mood lightens

The change of perspective is costly

The bids are high, owned and operated

Guided to inform identity

Without respect to identifying one’s own

Thoughtful consideration stopped, as the idea was given

Without time to stop and ask who, where and why?

The idea is adopted as one’s own

Was this a gift or a ‘Trojan Horse’?

This idea that was given without the personal touch

-Camille Delaquise

This poem appears in Behind the Facade, Camille’s debut contemporary poetry collection. Public opinion speaks to the manufactured nature of collective belief — exposing how identity and perspective can be quietly shaped by forces that present influence as information and persuasion as thought.