They were taken aback when
The child spoke freely,
Unencumbered by strictures,
Joyfully sharing his experience.
It felt strange, uncomfortable
To them, but only until they
Realized he had been
Given the gift of a voice.
It’s one thing
To oppose everything
And build your entire
Reason for being on
The premise that you’re
There to block the
Fabricated malfeasance of
An empirically well-meaning
Leader, but quite another
To find yourself in
Charge of things and
Prove beyond a shadow of
A doubt that you never
Knew how to govern or
Even had that intention.
He has no qualms
About letting children
Starve or succumb to
Illness, it’s a
Dog eat dog world
As far as he’s concerned,
And people have it
Coming according to
What he calls morality.
Sitting across
From you enjoying
The time we have
Together, knowing
It won’t last forever,
Wishing it would,
Words that bring
Us joy and sorrow.
Not much is happening
Now in this little town
Left behind by people
Who moved on when they
Had extracted everything.
Gary walks past the
Old plant, reminiscing
About he and his friends
Trading barbs while they
Assembled machines that
Made things happen.
All sense of purpose gone,
Nothing left but
Bewilderment,
Nobody listening.
One by one
They coalesce
Until they become
A noxious mass,
They follow
Each other into
The abyss,
Bringing everything
Else imaginable
Down with them,
Toxic cult of
Wretchedness.
Outward bluster
Masking inner
Insecurity.
Self-loathing
Wrapped up in
Defiance.
Acting tough is
Easier than
Healing one’s pain.
He has no answers,
So he surmises that
All one can do is
Judge coldly,
Based on no information,
A twisted perspective
Instilled by inculcation:
Rigid, inflexible,
Devoid of reason,
Disturbingly harsh,
One-dimensional.
Of the many
Choices available
To them, they revere
The ones that will
Cause unthinkable
Devastation to an
Unfathomable number of
Vulnerable people,
Just one of the
Benefits of never having
To think about anyone
But yourself.
