Made to feel
Exceedingly small,
Unimportant,
An afterthought,
In his formative years.
Dominated, controlled,
Berated, violated.
Left to fend for himself
Without any sense
Of direction,
Set loose
With jagged protrusions
That slash the
People he comes
In contact with.
With a shrug of
His shoulders he
Says that there
Will always be poverty,
And, unknowingly, with
That one pronouncement,
Millions, billions, of
People are relegated to
Being poor, simply
Because this one
Woefully misinformed person
And everyone like him,
Have bought into the lie that
It has to be this way.
Somber hall,
Air of sanctity,
Robed men enter slowly.
At the helm,
The one with the
Biggest hat.
Instructive incantations,
Solemn reminders of
Established order.
Not officiating,
Nor allowed to,
Women.
Waiting at the bus stop,
Breath visible under
Orange street light.
Step on, find a seat,
Watch the city pass by,
Imagining what goes on
Behind each window,
An occasional figure
Headed somewhere.
Punch in, work until
Wrists, arms, shoulders,
Back, legs protest.
Ride home, paycheck
Nestled in pocket,
Familiar deliberation,
Which bill to pay.
Wake before the waning hours
When circumstance no longer humors a
Dream postponed, wish delayed,
Experience avoided somnambulantly.
Like endless afternoons
Flirting with maybes and sometimes.
Occasion just missed.
At some level,
No doubt buried in
The deepest recesses
Of his psyche,
He realizes the words
Coming out of his mouth
Are hurtful.
Cold indifference,
All-consuming fear,
Learned at the
Receiving end of
Harsh punishment,
Propagated without
Conscious thought.
Every single answer on
A lovely tidy platter placed
Over a yawning chasm
Drawing every bit of matter
Toward its voracious mouth
Lined with sharp teeth and
Rampant uncertainties.
The stuff of life covered by
A gleaming lid promising
Complete absolution from
Experience, courage, joy.
Erudite clique meets
To devise the latest
Brilliant plan.
On the agenda:
Relentlessly eliminate
Critical programs.
Austere measures
Imposed regardless
Of outcomes.
Steady diet of
Scarcity,
Starvation.
Hobble it
Until it can’t
Do anything.
Such a lovely family portrait,
Grandfather and Grandmother
With their arms around their
Beloved grandchildren,
Smiles beaming but not
Luminously enough to mask
What the family business
Does to human beings,
Darkness behind pretense.
