Fuse rage and insecurity and
Project it on those who would
Make your life better. Deny reason
At all costs and incinerate fact.
Smoldering emotional rubble pile,
Blaming those who would help
You heal, show you mercy,
Invite you to love.
Deemed expendable,
Working ten-hour days,
Six days a week,
Sweltering room,
No ventilation,
Making something he’ll
Never be able to afford,
For someone far away
Who will never know
His name,
His dreams,
His hopes,
The toll this all takes
On his body.
A small human being,
Worth less than
A pair of shoes.
Enjoy the trappings of status,
Dominance, power. Have
Fun telling people what to do and watch
Them scamper, beck and call,
Unquestioned.
Surreptitiously informed that an underling
Deviated from what she ordered.
Insulted by the callous disregard
For her needs, indignation burning in her head
New plans carefully drawn up,
Keep the status quo.
Wake up much too early
Each day, get everyone up,
Make bag lunches,
Kids ready themselves for
Another public school day.
Coffee, bagel, shower,
Drive off to a place
She’d rather not be,
If she had a choice.
Smiles at everyone,
Cheeriness born of necessity,
Paycheck in hand
Every two weeks,
Choices to be made,
Shrinking pay requiring stretching,
Making do with less,
Another day on the treadmill.
Exhausted,
Arrive at home, prepare dinner,
Help kids with homework.
Alarm clock rings again.
In a serene wood-paneled office,
He moves toward a large window,
Blankly looks at the
Scurrying ants.
Sorry my kindness didn’t meet
Your expectations, fear gripping
So tightly, no room left for
Alternatives, restricted space.
Sorry my smile sent you into
Paroxysms of suspicion,
Alien threat writhing deep within,
No alternatives to constriction.
Sorry my caution elicited such
Confusion and bewilderment,
Lack of respect brazenly hurled,
No alternatives to entrenchment.
He hated her so much,
Probably because she could
See right through him,
To that place where
He was exposed and vulnerable,
Unable to get by on mediocrity or
Pretend his way out,
Where transcendence matters,
And stars shine far brighter
Than he ever would.
Ominous drums in the distance,
Perpetual bellicosity,
Continuous heightened alert,
Duck and cover
Regardless of actual threat.
Arouse hysteria,
Deflect attention from
Vast resources coursing
Into deep complex pockets,
Conflate with patriotism.
Countless homes disintegrating,
Children lacking sustenance,
Families crumpling to their knees.
Another extravagant instrument of
Strife rolls off an assembly line.
A heavy fog rolls down the street
Hugging every object along
It’s silent path. A figure appears
Momentarily and vanishes.
Memories and regrets replaced by
More pressing concerns.
Reveling in their
Ordinariness,
Smug about their
Unsettling ability
To celebrate the
Mundane,
Exalting the typical,
Keeping everyone at
The same level,
Bland,
Compliant,
Weeding out those who
Don’t conform.
