Short Free Verse Poems about the Human Condition

Extortion

Fealty to shareholders.
Soap bar downsized —
Toilet paper smaller —
Every product and
Container carefully
Engineered to extract
Maximum profit from
Struggling saps.
Food escalating,
Power bills astronomical,
Wireless service exorbitant,
Internet prohibitive,
Gasoline extreme.
Extortion at every turn,
Consumers at the mercy of
Soulless marketers,
Profit-churning monsters.

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Day Job

You told me not to quit my day job
When I sang a song. You told me
Not to quit my day job when I told a
Silly joke. You told me not to quit my
Day job when I started writing a book.
I decided to quit my day job, where
Does that leave you?

An Insight

Optimistically thinking
They were seeing the world
From her vantage point.

Belatedly realizing that
Empathy is a skill
Not everyone possesses.

An insight that
Brings with it both
Relief and sadness.

Bus

I saw her on a bus travelling down
A busy thoroughfare, on the way to
A bustling downtown. Our eyes met and
We exchanged a smile. She stood up,
Brushed a strand of auburn hair off her face,
Rang the bell, and got off at the next stop.

As the bus drove away our eyes met again.
My mind in turmoil, I hastily approached
The bus driver and asked to be let off
Between stops. I’m sorry sir, that’s against
The rules, he said deadpan, staring straight ahead.
The next stop too far away.

Any Questions?

Don’t agree with the rules?
Tough.
Don’t like the hours?
Deal with it.
Low pay?
Nobody’s telling you to stay.
No time off?
Work waits for no one.
No benefits?
That’s not our problem.
No bargaining rights?
There’s plenty of people
Who would be happy
To have your job.
Any questions?

Disquiet

How safe I feel until it appears:
Lashing, shoving, upsetting
My calm certitude. Rattling,
Confusing, shaking the walls of
My nerves. Look around and wait
In tense anticipation for tranquility to
Return. Try in vain to disregard the
Haphazard din, continuous thrusts.
Calm arrives, disquiet remains.

Pandering

Impenetrable block,
Reason need not apply,
Dysfunction supreme.

Pandering to bullies,
Ripping lunch money away
From the weak kids.

Cavalierly upending the table,
Food flying everywhere,
Nobody was hungry anyway.

Disrobe and drive home to
Plastic families,
Untreated pathologies.

Who Matters

The rage arising
From not having a voice,
Being denied the
Dignity of sharing
What’s on one’s mind,
Participating as an equal
In the conversation,
Listened to,
Uninterrupted,
Treated as someone
Who matters.

Singular

One thousand times he tried and
One thousand times he was denied.
The one thousandth and first attempt
Someone finally saw what everyone
Else had missed. The singular genius
Flowing from his heart, discovered by
Exactly the person who could see it.