Reading poetry
In a placid garden,
A bird stops by
To take a drink,
A squirrel visits
For a while,
The sun warms
Us all.
He talks eloquently,
Movingly about
Things like
Equality,
Kindness,
Peace,
Hope,
Compassion.
He’s often met with
The same depressing,
Dismissive looks
And comments
Denigrating his
Optimism and
Replacing it
With hopelessness.
Entire spheres
Populated by
Dull
Bullies
Overpowering
Any positive impulse,
Creating a harder,
Meaner world.
Light waning
Over the water,
Small waves quietly
Washing over pebbles,
Screaming at the
Injustice,
The trees listen.
So dead inside that
They don’t feel a thing
When making decisions
That hurt other human beings,
Moving forward with
Cold calculation,
Devoid of compassion.
Covered in
Restrictive,
Antiquated,
Uncomfortable garb,
Long hair
Archaically styled,
Pioneer women without
The freedom to explore,
Idealized, submissive
Feminine appearance.
Stay close to the hearth,
With your multiple offspring,
Do as you’re told by
Your male master.
Walking anachronisms
Controlled from all angles
By abusive hustlers
Waving morality banners.
Trying to avoid doing
Something that really
Needs to be done,
An uncomfortable itch
That doesn’t go away.
Busying oneself with
Distractions,
Reminders unabating,
Relentless in their
Power to unsettle,
Unstoppable until
Properly addressed.
They’ve been given
Permission to be as
Loutish as they want,
Belittling anyone who
Doesn’t agree with them,
Gaining validation from
Someone with no restraint,
Who doesn’t care for
Anyone but himself.
Under a
Perpetual
Poisonous
Smog cloud,
He walks along
A filthy street,
Engulfed by
Row upon row
Of blank,
Faceless,
Forbidding
Cloned buildings
Teeming with families
Dislocated by
Unstoppable forces,
A concrete corridor
Of imposed
Existence.
Having been terribly hurt
Early in his life
By people he trusted,
He flailed through each day with
Selfishness and cruelty,
Ridiculing empathy,
Celebrating harshness,
Repeating the pattern.
One sleepless night,
It became clear to him
That he was trying
To get back at those who
Had injured him,
Destroying himself and
Everyone else in the process.
It dawned on him that
He was only continuing the misery and
Resolved at that very moment to
Live with kindness,
Leaving behind all the pain,
Healing himself and the world.
