Short Free Verse Poems about the Human Condition

Unwhole

She felt unwhole and did the unwholesome.
She felt unloved and loved no one, including herself.
She felt unsatisfied and so her life went.

A slow, tortuous, paralyzing journey to places
She didn’t want to visit, with people she could
Not have cared less about.

Flipping through the images stored on a chip
As cold and impersonal as the experiences
She pretended to enjoy.

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Gotta

Things haven’t been
Going too well lately
In our little town.
Sure, we’re still proud of
Where we’ve been and
Who we are but
Times are tough,
You gotta do what
You gotta do.

Yesterday the senior center
Shut down, tomorrow the
Food pantry closes its doors,
A week ago the high school
Told kids to share books,
Music and art programs
Disappeared years ago.
Tough choices,
It’s gotta be done.

Quickly Moves On

I immediately see it
In his eyes,
Just beneath the bluster,
Pervasive fear, and
Not just a flicker but a
Fully formed flame,
Pleading for solace,
Some kind of relief from
All these years of pain and
Everything he’s done to others to
Try to silence the agony.
He doesn’t let me in, but it’s
Clear he knows I know, and
Quickly moves on to the
Next person who doesn’t.

Defensive Outrage

She talks about
An entire system
Set up to benefit
One group of people
Who never have to reflect
On why things are this way or
What it does to those
Not favored.
The people she’s talking with
All react with
Defensive outrage,
Proving her point,
Unaware of their privilege.

Avoidable

See them fall,
One by one,
Maudlin cries
Searching for
Meaning following
Their expiration
By nearly completely
Avoidable means.
Barely a single
Audible voice
Speaking on their
Behalf, imploring
Someone to do
Something about
Senseless carnage.
Silence, cowardice,
Sanctioned slaughter
To appease a lobby.

Reality

He’s a family man,
Working hard to provide
For his beloved wife and
Children, getting up each
Morning hoping this will
Be the day that his boss
Stops shouting at him or
Making wisecracks at his
Expense, or cutting his hours.

During the meager standing-up
Break that passes for lunch
At his workplace,
He overhears someone talking
About social justice,
Which makes his blood boil.
I fight for what’s mine,
I don’t rely on anybody else,
Hard work leads to success.

Lost in the outburst are
The many hours he’s
Worked off the clock,
The complete lack of flexibility
And benefits, the absence of
Opportunities to move up,
But none of that matters,
He fights for his earnest
Misapprehension of reality.

Exhausting Cycle

When the conversation
Predictably becomes
One-sided, he decides
That this is the last
Time he’ll endure it and
That it is necessary
To interrupt this
Exhausting cycle.

Costs

It
Costs
What
It
Costs.

Public education. Universal health care. Help for the vulnerable. Etc.

Why the Decision Was Made

Why the decision was made
Is beyond his understanding,
Only able to see
What he presently knows,
Not realizing that
There are things
He does not yet grasp
That affect determinations
Made regarding what he does,
Not because of malice,
Personal whim, or caprice,
But rather something else
He will, hopefully,
One day comprehend.