Regardless of
Steppe or clime,
They band together
Under draconian law.
Subjugating all who
Do not conform to
An archaic, twisted
View of the world.
The suffering
Are always those who
Have no stake in
Perpetuating fear.
No longer
Putting up with
Being forced to
Live as second-class
Citizens
Bowing to
Their oppressors.
They march
In the streets
Not because
They want to
But because
They have
No other choice.
It’s clear
He doesn’t
Feel a thing
When he talks
About killing
The youth.
Compassion absent,
He mechanically
Recounts how
He wouldn’t
Change a thing,
Just another day.
It’s clear
He doesn’t
Feel a thing
When he talks
About killing
The youth.
Compassion absent,
He mechanically
Recounts how
He wouldn’t
Change a thing,
Just another day.
Another child lies dead,
His killer exonerated,
A life less important.
Entrenched power structure
Preserved, secured,
Protecting its own.
Few tears shed by the
Part of the community
That sees him as other,
An animal to be subdued.
A grieving mother and
Father shake their
Heads in resignation.
They
Don’t
Believe
In
Peace,
Only
War.
They
Send
Other
People’s
Children
To
Fight.
They
Feel
Absolutely
No
Remorse,
Just
Profits.
Standing at the counter
Of the emergency room
Trying to get help
For her ailing husband
Clutching his chest.
It happened suddenly,
He was sent home from
His landscaping job
When the pain had
Become unmanageable.
The paperwork makes
No sense to her,
Her fifth grade daughter
Deciphers as much
As she can.
They hold each other’s
Hands and their
Own breaths,
Waiting for his
Name to be called.
Outrageous
Injustice,
Plain to see
To everyone but
The transgressors
Who perpetuate
Maltreatment.
Indifferent
To the plight,
Pain, systematic
Violation faced by
People who
Have never had
Another choice.
Create a narrative of
Fear and urgency.
Demonize
Your opponents.
Make them
An other.
Extol your
Virtue and superiority.
Pander to
Base instincts.
Carry out the plan
Mercilessly.
