A lifeless dinner party,
Superficial conversation
Interspersed with
Large silences,
Tight smiles,
People who can barely
Tolerate each other,
The hostess trying hard
To pretend it’s
All going well.
There’s not much
Left to say or do
When people succumb
To a raw lust for power
Over any semblance of
Decency except to
Stand up and oppose
Such reprehensible behavior,
Making sure it doesn’t
Become the new normal and
That generations to come
See there were people who
Cared about humanity.
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A wretched parallel universe
Where bad is good,
Cruelty is celebrated,
Intolerance encouraged,
Subjugation relished,
Reason denigrated,
Facts irrelevant…
Humankind’s worst instincts
Belching forth from
Gaping craters of fear and
Hatred, scalding decency,
Promising more suffering
Until persons of courage
Stand up and shout:
Not here, not now, not ever.
Automatically given
All the advantages,
Without having done
Anything to earn them,
The comfort of oblivion,
Complacency of right,
It becomes natural to feel
A surge of disdain
Toward lessers who aren’t
Part of your tribe,
Who have the audacity
To want the same things
You’ve always had.
She’s squatting in
This abandoned building
For the night,
Surrounded by strangers who
Have something in common.
She’d like to think that
Someone out there is
Worrying about her, but
She knows that it would
Only be for show, to make sure
The neighbors approve,
After all, they’re
The reason she’s out here.
Though circumstances may seem
Unbearable,
Remember that
There is a multitude of us
Here for you.
There is so much
Good in the world
Sustained by countless people
Who believe in love
And hope.
We care for you and each other,
We breathe together,
You’re never alone.
It was the look
Of contempt that
Changed everything,
A fixed stare
Piercing right through her,
Narrowed eyes,
One-sided smile,
Devoid of any empathy,
Now an object of scorn,
Written off as unworthy.
It sounds like a
Wonderful dream,
A place devoid of compassion,
Where no one gets health care,
Persecution for not
Believing certain things
Is acceptable,
Violence rules,
Some people are
More equal than others,
A few own most everything,
Cruelty and callousness
Are celebrated.
