Sometimes, Oftentimes

He could get very
Angry about the situation
But chooses instead to
Wish the object of
His contempt well and
Move on with his life.
Sometimes, oftentimes,
It’s just better to
Let things go and
Heal the world in
Some small way.

Rancid

Same hierarchy imposed,
People standing
In rancid cliques pretending
To feel comfortable
In their own skins.

Reliving past triumphs
And the rush that came
From disparaging others,
Walking by with a nose
In the air, punch on the arm.

Years later,
Glory days still fondly
Revisited by husks
Too broken to rewire
The obsolete mess.

No Impact

Human suffering
Appears to have
Absolutely no impact
On him.

He doesn’t seem
To care at all whether
A child goes hungry
Or a mother falls ill.

No concept of
Fairness, equality,
Or trace of most
Basic compassion.

Nobody ever helped him,
Completely self-made,
At least that’s what
He tells others.

He Always Knows Better

I tried to explain
Over and over but
He wouldn’t listen.
No matter how little
He really knew about
The situation,
He still heard
Only his own voice,
He always knows better.

Spectacle

He has to win
All the time,
Or everyone loses.

Tantrum after
Horrible tantrum
Erupting.

An ugly spectacle
Writhing on
The floor.

March

Their march will continue,
Until every single
Person believes exactly
What they believe and
Acts exactly as they
Want everyone to act,
And looks exactly like
They all look,
And believes in the
Same fabricated nonsense.
Then they will find
Something else to revile,
Some other group to exclude,
Another contrived target to
Denigrate and spew their
Wretched,
Unquenchable,
Unlimited,
Unreasonable
Hate upon.

Well-Intentioned

A change blows in, barely perceived
Except to those who welcome these
Things. A murmur, a hint, a pinch of
Expectation, hope, elation.
Severity puts on its boots, stomps around
Sniffing the air askance.
Extravagant freshness, dewy possibility.
Expeditiously impress unacceptability on it,
Deny its existence, close the door on
Smiling visitor, well-intentioned.

Single Approach

Mindset of punishment
And retaliation, always
A message to be sent,
Incessant posturing,
Don’t show the chink
In the armor though
It can’t be missed in
All its withering
Insecurity, a single
Approach to everything.

Certainty

He grew up in a cozy neighborhood
Within a bigger town.
His mind developed just enough to
Leave room to spare.

He reached great heights professionally,
Smaller inward gains.
At every pivotal moment a
Narrow voice promising certainty.