Fail your own children,
But pamper theirs and
Tend to their every need.
A paragon of caring and
Virtue. A smarmy interloper
Peddling love and kindness.
Never acknowledge past
Shortcomings, bask in the
Glow of unconditional regard
From innocents too young to
Realize who you really are.
A second chance to
Pat yourself on the back.
Furtively erase responsibility,
Edit the record.
Looking at how
He treated her,
A stark epiphany:
He never respected her.
Something so elemental,
Taken for granted,
Love, professed but
Not demonstrated.
It all becomes clearer.
Corrosive obsession with
Maximizing profits.
Feverishly channeling
Rivers of money to
Investors –
Private equity firms –
Executive bonuses,
Rather than
Supporting employees
Who will then have money
To spend and help
The economy prosper,
Or provide value to
Consumers who will be
More loyal and make the
Company more successful.
Scream communism when
The words fairness or
Sharing are mentioned,
Though they aren’t
Political terms,
Just basic civility,
Treating hard-working
People with respect and
Giving customers an
Honest deal.
Perhaps they don’t understand,
Or consciously refuse to,
That it doesn’t have to
Be this way.
Pillaging, plundering,
Plunging people into destitution.
A woeful, sustained onslaught,
Taking advantage of others
For profit.
Maybe they don’t realize
That there are any number of
Reasonable alternatives.
Collaboration, caring, empathy,
Leading to success, wealth,
For everyone.
Unthinkable. A philosophy based on
Mutual support, encouragement.
Brighter, more hopeful, possible.
Coarse mob
Defiantly protesting
A government that
Provides for that right.
Misdirected anger,
Misplaced allegiance to
Abstract concepts
Rooted in fear – mistrust,
Generational wounds.
Unchecked rugged individualism,
Freedom to antagonize –
Contorted civil disobedience,
Clutching discredited ideas
Perpetuating imparity.
Insidious double-talk,
Confuse the rubes,
Tell them one thing,
Deliver another.
Mal-intentioned misdirection,
Disseminate falsehoods,
Chuckle heartily when
They fall for it.
Take advantage of access to
Information and power,
Surreptitiously shift
The conversation.
Continually erode
Vital pillars,
Remorselessly hinder
Progress.
An uneasy sense
Of impending dread
Permeates her being.
She got the inevitable call,
The one where they unilaterally
Announce they’re coming.
Time to clean too much
So that no ill-advised
Comments are uttered.
Always such a pleasure
To have them inevitably
Descend upon her.
They tinker around the edges,
Making changes that have no
Real effect and often weaken
The underlying structure.
They claim it’s all about
Accountability, performance,
But it’s really about dismantling
Institutions that help the public.
Never mentioned at any point is
The necessity to fully fund
Meaningful programs that
Benefit the vulnerable.
The hard-working
Son of a sharecropper,
He leaves the sweltering
Heat of his small shack
And walks down a
Dirt road toward the
Center of town,
Where all the
Tidy buildings beckon
And well-appointed citizens
Stroll through clean,
Tree-lined streets,
Nodding to each other,
And where he’s never
Felt quite welcome.
He remembers the stories
His parents told him
When he was a child.
