A beautiful tree
Resplendent in clear sunshine,
Verdant limbs swaying—
I adjust my new t-shirt,
Hoping she’s looking over.
They’ve lost everything
And been told it’s the fault of
People who are not like them.
They revolt in anger,
Lashing out at a perceived
Enemy that doesn’t exist,
Ignoring the malefactors
In their midst, trying
To hurt someone back for
What they’ve endured,
Supporting opportunists
Promising to alleviate
Their chronic pain,
Misinterpreting who really
Did this to them.
Thinking and behaving
Courageously, the
Purview of the few who
Understand that the
World is a better place
When we all help
Each other flourish.
So many things to
Take care of,
Seemingly all at once,
Barely able to cope
With even one task,
Let alone many,
A haze of anxiety.
He remembers a time
When it all seemed easier,
Though, upon reflection,
It might have never been.
He still remembers the
Dark outline above him,
His mother by the door,
As he was mercilessly
Lashed for some minor,
Random infraction.
Barely making it through
High school, too many
Anxieties roiling through
His mind, he vows to
Do something so others don’t
Have to go through what he did.
He follows a career path that
Puts him in a position of
Authority and power; he feels
It course through his system,
The ability to control others,
Punish with impunity.
They know that suffering
People are rendered much
More docile when their attention
Is diverted by keeping
Them continually entertained.
If they’re staring at screens
All day, they won’t have the
Time to look behind the curtain
And realize they’ve been
Deliberately mislead.
Compliance encouraged through
Diversion, careful redirection
Of pain and passion,
Numbing thought and activity,
Uprising neutralized.
Sitting on a bench
In the middle of
A bustling park,
He spots a friend
Across the way,
Then remembers
What happened.
It arrives innocuously,
At first seeming
Like no big deal.
It soon becomes much more
Trouble than it merits,
Unrequested complexity.
It collapses spectacularly,
A victim of its own
Unwieldiness.
It’s not so hard to become a
Failed state, just make sure
That those who are in power
Don’t care a whit for the
Most vulnerable in society or
Anyone who didn’t have the
Benefit of being born into
Privilege. Systematically
Weaken vital institutions
That actually help regular
People and then screech about
How government doesn’t work.
Do everything in your power
To make sure nothing functions
For anyone but the rich and
That the less fortunate are
Methodically expressed like
Ripe grapes, their juices
Flowing into bulging coffers
While smug swindlers fly to
Some far-away vacation paradise.
