So close to the
Problem at hand,
Failing to see any
Simpler solution,
Though many exist.
Compulsive obsession,
Absolute focus on
Undesirable options,
Unknowingly banishing
Common sense.
A moment of clarity,
Scenario viewed
From a different angle,
Yielding far better
Results, tranquility.
She rages at people
Who receive support
To feed their children,
Keep a roof over their heads,
Remain contributing members of society
Rather than scorned pariahs,
Cast off and left to perish.
She conveniently forgets the
Many times that some person
Helped her in a time of need,
A friend, a co-worker,
A family member, someone who
Believed that she just needed
A little temporary assistance.
Unforgiving,
Unbendable inflexibility,
Aggressive, hardened stance.
Lack of nurture,
Scarcity of empathy,
Shrinking kindness,
Clenched fist of authority,
Enforcing rules,
Unprepared.
He confides,
With great earnestness,
To the crowd,
That he’s for family values,
And by that he means the
Old-fashioned,
Tried and true,
Time-tested morals of
Exemplars deeply
Steeped in hypocrisy and
Callousness, effortlessly
Trampling over anyone who
Doesn’t believe in their
Particular brand of
Tribal decree,
A narrowing of scope,
Collapsing heart.
Scarcity spreads its
Bony fingers across
The landscape, an
Ominous shadow obliterating
Kindness and hope.
People huddle in fear,
Staring at the cracks
Developing in the dam.
Even in the most opulent
Board rooms people talk
Worriedly about the
Coming deluge and continue
Stuffing the vaults with
Stolen gold, expecting
They’ll survive the
Cataclysm they created.
Defining oneself by
A mistake,
Interminable penance,
Reliving a moment
Over and over.
The understanding
That we can change,
Evolve,
Heal and rectify
Missteps from the past.
Moving forward
Openly,
Consciously,
The majesty of
Change.
He doesn’t like
Political correctness,
Even though all
It means
Is not being
A jerk
To others.
Arms crossed,
Scrunched face,
Pouty lip,
Poor little tycoon
Sulks theatrically,
Explodes indignantly,
Threatens to withhold
Contrived largesse,
A normally selfless gesture
Becomes just another
Bargaining chip.
It’s all fine and dandy
When you can do it
Without being discovered,
But quite another when
Your modus operandi and
Shriveled heart
Are starkly on display,
Then you have to face
What kind of person
You’ve become,
It still doesn’t matter,
You’ve been through it before,
It’s how you got here.
He remembers a time
When he assumed that
What he was saying
Mattered, that it was
Being taken into account,
Considered as important
In some way, part of the
General decision-making
Process that occurs
In a family, then
The day came when
He realized his words
Had no weight at all.
