Preferring to have the
Whole world go up in flames
Than to admit wrongdoing,
Disturbingly fragile ego.
People don’t matter,
Only self-preservation,
Maintaining implausible
Illusion of invincibility.
Requiring constant attention,
Craving supremacy,
Staggering insecurity
Consuming everything.
He climbs on a
Trash pile,
The only life he’s
Ever known,
On the outskirts of
A city where
Other people
Make plans
To keep him
Exactly where he is
In perpetuity.
An event perfectly planned
Down to the most minute
Detail, swiftly derailed by
The most mundane of unforeseen
Glitches, competently handled
By some, a cause for great
Alarm to others, nobody
Notices on the outside,
Or cares, everything appearing
Just fine to the unsuspecting.
There is no one else
Like you
In the entire world.
You’re precious,
Important.
Your presence matters,
The planet needs you,
Share who you are
Deep inside,
Everyone will benefit.
So, this is how it goes
In this economic construct,
Companies so powerful they can
Do whatever they want to
Whomever they wish,
Without fear of repercussion,
Complete impunity,
Absolute lack of remorse.
What should be
A joyous moment
Becomes a tedious
Chore, fraught with
Discomfort, trepidation,
The memory of how things
Evolved to this point.
It would be nice to
Be able to avoid it,
But some things
Are inescapable.
The most eloquent
Argument, based on
Critical thinking,
Empirical evidence,
Objective reality,
Reason,
Is no match for his
Emotionally-driven
(Fear-motivated to be specific)
Vituperations on pretty much
Any topic he decides
To inflexibly defend.
She tries to have an earnest
Conversation with a relative
About why war is necessary
When there are so many other
Peaceful options available.
She shares her perspective that,
Along with the desire to
Destroy one another,
Humans possess an equal or greater
Capacity for altruism and love.
Appealing to his sense of decency,
Which she’s seen many times,
She plaintively beseeches him to
Clarify why he thinks problems
Need to be solved with violence.
No answers are forthcoming,
She finds out these things aren’t
About logic or fact,
Just a reflection of the
Torment in people’s hearts.
She had a hard time understanding
Where his cruelty came from,
Until she met his family:
An ominous group of harsh
Belittlers who extolled the
Virtues of survival of the fittest,
Mercilessly putting each other down
To prove who was king,
Roughhousing and competition
Behavioral staples – requirements,
Women shown their place in the kitchen,
Encouraged to keep quiet
About important stuff,
Attitudes formed through
Severe indoctrination –
Ubiquitous punishment.
Sure, there was some perfunctory
Level of compassion for people
They knew personally, offset by
A scorching empathy desert
For anyone they considered other,
Which meant pretty much everyone,
Especially foreigners,
Freeloaders and softies.
That’s why she bid him goodbye,
A person of her nature could
Only take so much horror.
