There are things that
Need to be finished
And yet aren’t.
Matters left for
Another time
That never arrives.
Regrets stuffed
Deeper down, to
Resurface another day.
We have the
Ability and the
Means to solve
Any social problem
In the world,
We just lack
The will,
Or perhaps it
Should be said,
The same people
In high places
Keep it from
Happening.
High school online,
The popular kids
Preening and primping,
Everyone else trying
To be like them even though
None of it matters.
People left out, made fun of.
Pretending meaningless relationships
Mean something.
She leaves, inviting everyone
To contact her directly,
No one does.
None of them
Have any interest
In helping the
Less fortunate,
Although a couple
Of them talk
A good game to
Give their cronies
The cover they
Need to do
Heinous things.
A group of
Friends at a
Favorite restaurant.
One of them
Says something rude
To the waiter.
No one says
Anything,
Looking away instead.
It’s okay not to know
Where you’re going,
You’ll be able to
Figure it out.
Look deep inside,
Get to know yourself,
Heal the things that
Hold you back,
Pursue the things that
Make you truly happy.
Celebrate how wonderful you are,
Grow all the time,
You’re worth it.
Perhaps he means well,
But it’s these kinds of
Stunted feelings,
Maudlin displays of
Melodramatic puerility,
That presage much more
Serious repercussions in
Situations requiring
Deeper insight.
She’s thrown to the floor
By someone sworn to
Protect her,
In front of her classmates,
Who understand what’s
Really going on and how
It could be them,
And has already been the
Relative they visit
Once in a while,
Labeled early on as
Troublemakers who deserve
To be penned and forgotten.
Seeing them after so
Many years, it dawns
On her how different
She is now, not the
Same person that used
To be deeply enmeshed
In the intrigue and
Chaos, expected to
Get with the program
Without resistance,
Fold neatly
Into submissiveness.
