In Actuality
The difficulty involved
In letting go of anger,
Something that has
Supposedly served him
For so many years but has,
In actuality,
Only steered him away
From what really matters,
A lesson learned after
Too many years of failure.
Short Free Verse Poems about the Human Condition
Captains
Under flimsy guise of
Choice and freedom,
Cavalierly dismantling
Vital programs offering
The less fortunate a
Chance to live a life of
Dignity, perhaps to
Succeed one day.
Turning the clock back to
A darker time when
The many had to fend
For themselves,
At the mercy of
So-called captains,
Two-bit pirates
Raiding the coffers.
Customer Service
He encounters a problem
And calls customer service.
Not again, a voice with
An accent on the other end.
He rages about the
Person trying to help him but not
About the company outsourcing jobs,
Paying some hapless human being
A quarter of what they
Would pay someone in
This country just to
Make a few people
That much richer.
Lovelessness
Hardness forged by
Ferocious words,
Closed fists,
Absence of kindness,
Scarcity.
Hypervigilance,
Fearsome monsters around
Every corner,
Innocence exterminated,
Leaving nothing but
Raw hatred,
Lovelessness.
The Machine
Suffering the consequences of
A joyless worldview
That deems human beings worthless,
Expendable, disposable in order
To make a few people even richer
So they can feel superior
For barely a moment,
Someone’s else’s death
Meaning nothing,
The machine grinds on.
One Hundred Dollars
If a nation of
One hundred people
Possesses one hundred
Dollars and ninety-nine
Of those dollars go
To one person, that
Leaves one dollar for
Ninety-nine people.
Not a bad deal deal
For that one person,
A terrible one for
Everyone else.
Some people think
This is okay,
Others don’t.
The Difference
An insidious myth
That pervades both
Casual and supposedly
Expert conversation:
Both sides are the same,
A point of view easily
Debunked by even the
Most cursory of examinations,
The difference between
Cruelty and compassion.
Creativity
It takes no creativity
To slap together a
System based on fear,
Just a few coarse
Words or insinuations
Designed to push
Waiting buttons.
Selfishness doesn’t
Involve deliberation.
What requires far more
Concern and forethought is
Finding ways to care
For human beings and
Building a world where
Empathy is the norm
And everyone matters.
Closing the Door
Sarah reads her father
A story, just like
He did when she was a
Little girl. She kisses
Him on the forehead and
Wishes him a good night.
Quietly closing the door,
She wonders how they will
Pay for his medical bills.