Short Free Verse Poems about the Human Condition

Unthinkable

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.

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Allegiance

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.

Hinder

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.

Such a Pleasure

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.

Fund

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 Center of Town

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.

Confluence

“Everything will be okay,”
She reassured me, but
I knew that this time was
Different, I had seen it
In history books, where
Things start to unravel
Due to some strange
Confluence of events and
The people who cause them;
Unbalanced, undesirable,
Leading in an entirely
Alarming direction.

That Time

Remember that time when you
Tried to start that thing that drove
You crazy and made you doubt
Who you really are and caused
You to flee into a situation where
You had even less control and
Wished you could return to the
Time when you simply were
Fearful of what you didn’t know?

Good Girl

Bright, shiny,
Absolutely beautiful.
Bursting with excitement,
Potential, optimism, intelligence.

A whole life of
Unlimited possibilities awaits,
Places to go, people to meet,
Dreams to be made real.

Not so fast,
We do things a certain way
In this family,
In this town.

Clamp on rusty shackles of
Societal expectations, constrictions.
Know your place,
Be a good girl.