Short Free Verse Poems about the Human Condition

Many People

Many people said he wouldn’t succeed and
He didn’t because he listened to them.
Many people said she wouldn’t succeed and
She gave up because she believed them.
Many people said they wouldn’t succeed and
They discarded their vision.

Many people say all kinds of things,
Preferring to reside on the periphery of
Vulnerability and courage rather than jump in
The maelstrom and prove their mettle.
Easy to hold someone back when you’re
Already behind. Avert your ears.

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Philanthropy

Fawning fanfare,
Large endowment to
An institution
Solely benefiting
Those with access,
Dubious magnanimity.
Qualified selective giving,
Hearty pat on the back,
Enlarging a castle
Only a few can enter,
Exclusive membership club.
Generosity preserving
De facto demarcations,
Philanthropy of inequality.

Like Me

Wear your clothes like me
Wear your hair like me.
Wear your beliefs like me.
Drive the same vehicle as me.
Drive the people around you
Crazy like me.
Drive yourself into the
Ground like me.

Who you are, where you come from,
Who you worship is my concern.
What music do you listen to?
To whom do you listen?
Who are you like me?

Diatribe

Eyes bereft of
All feeling,
Standing woodenly at a podium
Denigrating human beings —
Blithe devaluation —
They choose to live in squalor,
Culture of poverty.
Same old story,
Proposing to replace
Meager,
Subsistence assistance with
Nothing.
Rail against compassion —
Programs haven’t worked,
Complete failure,
Spotty results at best.
No new ideas,
The same heartless diatribe,
Let them fend for themselves.

Position

Make sure that you find one
Position and never consider
Another, never compromise your
Principles, never cede any ground.
This is a fight, after all, and fights
Are to be won at all costs,
No matter what the damage.

Watch lifelessly as every opportunity for
Collaboration and conviviality topple
Into the abyss. Stand firm as hopes
Wither and doors close on people’s
Expectant faces. Savor the moment,
There are only so many times you can
Dig your heels in before the hole is
Too deep to fill.

It’s Easy

It’s easy to become
One of them,
Just function based on
Your hurts,
Extinguish your heart,
Close your mind,
Develop an immunity to truth,
Begin speaking and never stop,
No matter what anyone says,
Or how much it damages others,
Remain true to your
Ideals of exclusion and cruelty,
Make the world a worse place.

Live to Prey

Projecting hatreds,
Insecurities onto others,
Twisting words into
Rapiers,
Eviscerating the
Most vulnerable,
Stalking the defenseless,
Grinding their faces
Into the dirt,
A self-satisfied smile
Oozing self-righteousness,
Decency perverted.
Band-aid on a
Festering wound,
Live to prey
Another day.

Nectar

A man prone to depression
Thought about his life in terms of what
Was wrong. He spent many years in
Solitude until he met a woman who was
Sure she could fix him. No matter how
Low he went, she was there to cradle him.
Precious despair tended to well.

Years passed with the branch bending ever
Closer to the ground until it
Mercifully snapped. Nothing left to
Bear once the fog lifted. The pair grew
Apart. He moved to greener climes, she to
Another flower offering the nectar.

In the Back

Kindly sit in the back,
Know your place,
Things are as they should be,
Don’t rock the boat,
What are you fussing about?
Seen but not heard,
Shadow passing unperceived.
Struggles of the
Past revisited,
Wound reopened,
Hadn’t healed as much
As we all thought,
If at all.
Turn back the clock,
Reinstitute reviled institutions,
Things were much better
Back then,
Before the unrest.