I can’t memorize
Anything to save my life,
Can’t recite poetry
Off the top of my head
To impress a crowd or
Advance in academia,
But I innately understand
The feelings a work evokes,
And what it means
On a deeper level,
That’s where I live,
Short on specifics,
A form of perception
Beyond particular words.
Each day he visits
The same store,
Hoping she’ll be there
So they might share
Some small talk about
The weather or what’s
Going on around town.
It’s been like this
For almost a year,
Smiles and pleasantries
Exchanged briefly.
Since she was
A little girl,
She’s been told
That this is
What she should
Behave like,
And this is what
She should look like,
And this is whom
She should marry,
And this is what
She should wear,
And that this
Is her lot in life.
As soon as
She possibly can,
She leaves it all
Behind for the joy of
Self-determination and
The freedom to celebrate
Who she really is and
Follow her own rules.
Family reunion,
Everyone looks happy,
All the guys
Standing by the barbecue
One-upping each other,
All the women in
The kitchen talking
About the men,
Kids running around,
Underlying misery.
He can choose
Any path really,
His wealth allows him
To pretty much do
Whatever he wants,
Whenever he wants,
In any way
He wishes to.
It’s not so hard
To make someone
Else’s life a
Little easier,
More rewarding,
Worthwhile,
Empires can be built
With kindness,
Sharing doesn’t have
To be an expletive.
He elects to
Pay low wages.
I keep wishing he
Would keep his beliefs
To himself, but he
Confidently opens and
Closes his mouth without
Ever a second thought,
Making sure everyone
Knows exactly what he
Deems to be true,
Consistently demonstrating
How little he comprehends,
One person too many
In an elevator.
You can see it coming,
Accompanying some
Everyday event and,
Predictably, becoming
Like every other thing
In his life—overly
Complicated by an
Entrenched inability to
Admit that he doesn’t
Know everything,
Fearing he’ll be
Exposed.
Deprived of the love
He needed when he
Was growing up,
He’s now unable to
Feel it for anyone else,
Including himself,
His life a caustic
Ordeal of ire
Accompanied by wretchedness,
Although, if you ask him,
He’ll assure you he’s happy.
Beat mercilessly
As a child,
Belittled,
Minimized,
Robbed of any sense
Of self-love,
He gravitates toward
Others with
Similar wounds.
They form a
Movement of
Violent hatred,
Subjugating other
Human beings,
Killing undesirables,
Craving the fleeting
Feeling of power,
Never satisfied.
A cult psychosis,
Collective hypnosis,
Fabricating a false
History, distorting
The truth, exorcising
Personal demons by
Trying to take over
The world instead of
Healing themselves.
