Working and reworking
The thing without any
Clear idea of what it’s
Supposed to look like.
Sure, he’s read plenty
About what needs
To be done, but none of
It makes sense.
Forging onward with
The distinct feeling
That this may not be
The path either.
Brutalized by someone
They trusted,
Living adult lives of
Overt fear and anger,
Lashing out at
Imagined adversaries,
Pretending to be strong,
Whimpering inside,
Devotedly following the
First tyrant that
Comes their way.
Trying to find some
Semblance of feeling
Behind those lifeless eyes,
But there isn’t any,
Extinguished by some
Authority figure who
Taught him that
The world is a
Very hard place and
That he should
Be harder.
They hope you won’t
Notice everything
They’re taking away,
How they’re obliterating
Compassion and decency,
Leaving behind a charred
Dystopia with a few obscenely
Affluent creatures reveling in
Manicured enclaves
Surrounded by monstrous gates.
Waking up with yet another ache,
Making coffee,
Looking at the trees,
Wondering how many more days are left
And what happens after it all.
A breeze makes its appearance,
Proof that all is in motion,
Nothing ever stands still.
She’s talking about
Something very important
To her but it’s clear
All he hears is what
He’s able to assimilate,
Which isn’t that much,
And always seems related
To some strange need to
Protect himself from
Unseen dangers.
I talk with him or,
Perhaps I should say,
He talks at me,
And I immediately
Notice the tightness
In his face, a hardness
That is almost off-putting,
A sense that there is
Some kind of danger of
This person before me
Coming undone and causing
A caustic ruckus.
I wonder how he got
To this place and whether
He’ll ever leave it,
He says something or other
About the moochers.
She’s busy running across
The oversize rooms of
Their dream mansion,
Yet another party,
Yelling orders at the caterer,
Making sure the help’s uniforms
Look perfect, fretting about
The giant flower arrangements
On various tables, eager to
Show-off everything she owns,
All her stuff, all that she is.
They went out today,
A now-infrequent splurge,
Can’t do it as much
Anymore, prices have
Gone up by at least
fifty percent, what
Used to be absorbable
Is now much more draining,
A larger percentage of
Non-increasing wages
Taking away from necessities
While the powers that be
Dine without worries.
