Killing the arts,
Heavy-handed plot to
Silence dissent.
Stifle creativity,
Gag the rabble-rousing
Subversives.
Suppress contradictory
Voices challenging
Authority.
No one left to
Speak uncomfortable truths.
They have won, and lost.
I guess it must be
Written somewhere that
We shouldn’t take care
Of those less fortunate
Than us, that we should
Make paupers suffer
Because, after all,
They’re just lazy and
Deserve to live in squalor
While all the resources are
diverted to the ruling class.
They come from
A dark place where
No light is allowed in.
Don’t talk back,
Your voice doesn’t
Matter here.
Follow the rules
And you won’t
Get hurt.
In a sudden moment of clarity,
She realizes that he never
Respected her.
In retrospect it seems so clear,
The constant belittling,
Snide remarks, manipulation.
A pervasive pattern of control
Passed off as caring,
Actions intended to subjugate.
She tells herself it can’t be true,
While knowing deep inside
It always has been.
Rugged individualism
Corrodes the bonds of society,
Which only thrives when
People work together
To build a greater whole,
Realizing that nothing
Happens without help
From others, that one’s
Life is richer because
Everyone agrees to
Participate sincerely.
Sadly, one cannot
Yearn one’s way into
Another’s heart,
Only skulk around
The margins hoping
Something will change,
Reading great promise
Into irrelevant events,
The object of one’s
Ardor unaware.
Every action directed at
Undermining vital institutions,
Weakening structures
That support the vulnerable,
Propelling a heartless agenda
Condemning the disadvantaged to
Perpetual suffering,
Feigning a smile while
Dismantling democracy,
The aristocracy ruthlessly
Asserts itself, yet again.
Unwavering fealty to
The group, the greater
Good left behind in
Favor of a narrow agenda
Benefiting only a few
At the highest end of
The scale, preferential
Treatment for those who
Already enjoy all the perks,
Long rows of identical
Drones marching in formation,
Obliterating everything
In their path to
Satisfy a pathological
Compulsion for power.
There’s a long pause
Followed by a few
Tentative attempts to
Get the conversation
Started, trying to scale
A wall erected by fear.
Devoid of knowledge and
Experience, they wobble
Down an unexplored path,
Each hesitant to take
Another step, a precipice
At every turn.
It ends before it begins,
Where it’s always been,
Laying dormant and untended,
The disease never treated,
Ignored as much as
Important things can be.
