Rough,
Unyielding,
Insecure.
Something’s wrong,
Just below the surface,
Turmoil.
Outwardly rugged,
Inwardly mangled,
Ruptured.
Only violence here,
Ruthlessness,
Utter despair.
Obsessively feeding
Stockholders
At the expense of
Consumers, people,
Decency, everything.
Promise ever-increasing returns,
Keep earnings artificially high,
Nothing else matters.
Metastasizing abnormal growth,
Never content with enough.
A world gutted by a
Pathological need for
Wealth and status,
Nourishing the few
Who can buy shares and
Their pushers.
Illusions vanish,
Leeches abscond.
Sitting in his favorite chair,
He motions to his wife to
Fetch him another beer and
Stares blankly into the
Television where a smug
Talking head reinforces all
His worst impulses and
Lends credence to the appalling
Thoughts clogging his every
Waking moment, physically
Animate, emotionally dead.
In a ramshackle trailer park,
A family of five inhabits
An ancient Airstream
On a cold, rainy day,
Wearing winter coats indoors
To keep barely warm, a tiny
Space heater rattles hopelessly.
Rent is due in a couple
Of days and Mark is out
Looking for any kind of
Employment, Susan has to
Stay home with the kids,
Child care costing more than
Any minimum wage job affords.
The holidays are near and
There’s no money for gifts,
Or anything to eat,
A trip to the local food pantry
An embarrassing new reality,
They reminisce about their vacation
Last year before the layoffs.
It doesn’t have to
Be this way,
Predators tearing
Apart the less fortunate.
There are many other
Options that don’t require
Winners and the
Inevitable losers.
The naysayers have proven
What kind of world we
Create when we base it on
Hurt and avarice.
Inner wholeness and
Love for each other
Yields far better results,
If we allow them to flourish.
They come from
All over the
Countryside,
From small,
Forgotten villages
Bereft of opportunity,
To living under
A bridge,
Covered by a
Sheet of tin,
In the shadow of
Gleaming skyscrapers.
Under the guise of
Revering personal freedom,
A huckster carny
Palavers to dismantle
Vital institutions that
Build civilized societies
A pernicious warrior declaring
That government should be
Severely curbed, for no other
Reason than an appalling
Absence of caring, compassion,
Sense of community.
Duplicitous kingpins
Promise a land of
Fairness and good
Old-fashioned competition.
Reality more like
A trap for everyday
People struggling to
Not be swallowed whole.
Pervasive myth of a
Self-correcting system
That provides for
Everyone.
Affecting an appearance of
Piety while harboring
Vitriolic hatred toward
People who aren’t like him.
Many have paid the price
For his unchecked
Emotional instability and
Tormented tirades.
They couldn’t say anything
For fear of being destroyed
By a roaring avalanche
Of twitching authoritarianism.
