Lavish gifts
Showered on cronies,
Monumental resistance to
Providing pathetic pittances
For toiling families.
Loud cackling protest when
Aid is given to
The inferior,
Unworthy,
A wink when
Funneled to
Unaccountable players.
A cut for the needy,
Meager minds content.
Fragile,
Requiring constant care,
Vigilance,
Reverence for the common good.
How easily it is
Torn apart by
Indifference, greed, myopia.
Taken for granted
Until it’s not there any more,
People in disbelief,
Wondering what happened.
Logical extension,
Abstract philosophy
Becomes reality.
Involuntary servitude,
Forced labor for
No wages,
Unregulated ownership of
Everything, everyone.
Severe order imposed,
Ruthless opportunists
Extinguishing dignity,
Independence.
No one there.
No one there.
Where’d they go?
I don’t know.
I’ll wait a moment.
I’ll wait a lifetime.
I’ll wait no longer.
I’ll wait perpetually.
He went to his grave
Without having to
Say I’m sorry,
Leaving behind a legacy of
Pain and destruction
Born of pettiness and fear,
Helping no one,
Advancing no noble cause,
Only there to tend to
His abject brokenness.
Many years spent together.
Many conversations and the
Shared, familiar laughter of
Congenial experience.
Harmonious chatter,
Joyful exchanges.
Always there for me.
Always understanding what I was
Thinking or saying. Always talking,
That’s how I returned the favor.
Now I make up stories about
How you were because I
Never asked or listened.
Love selectively. Others
Who need attention are
Not worthy. Sing solely to
Those who are weary of your song.
Fight fiercely for those who
Share your experience.
Congratulations are in order.
There will always be poverty,
Uttered nonchalantly,
No realization of the crushing
Weight of words,
How they doom millions to
Lives of scorn,
Limited opportunities.
Casually mentioned phrase,
Self-fulfilling prophecy.
Lives in fear of those who are
Not the same. Perhaps they’ll
Come today. They might
Take everything away,
Usurp his power.
Invites a collage of people to
Spend some time, talk, laugh.
Growth surges, strength builds.
An open smile.
