The harshest survive,
The most broken
Impose their will
On hapless bystanders,
Darwinian tragedy.
Wired with a capacity
For compassion and
Nuanced thought,
Unconsciously venerating
Brute force.
Clamoring horde of
Merciless boors
Feasting greedily,
Remorselessly,
Ignoble instinct.
They walked into each other’s lives
Without a single clue as to how to
Treat someone well. The only tool
They possessed was the ability to
Repeat what they had seen their
Respective parents do, poorly.
They proceeded to make each other
Occasionally joyful but mostly
Profoundly miserable. Such is the
Fate of those who live unconsciously,
Perpetuating the ordeal one reaction at a time,
Each new mistake following the last.
Unlimited possibilities,
Open to anything,
Embracing uncertainty,
Boundless excitement,
A planet charting
Its own course.
It’ll hurt business
To help the poor,
To raise the minimum wage,
To remove the glass ceiling,
To regulate pollution.
Opposing humanity,
Communities of one.
Complete domination,
Uncontrolled predation
The only objective.
Imperious children
Bawling self-indulgently,
Pleading for pity,
Encircled by
Human wreckage.
A series of crises jolt frail,
Susceptible minds into visceral fear.
Whom to blame, someone, anyone.
Single out the weakest,
Attach despective labels.
Rail against fabricated enemies of
Crumbling state of mind.
Revel in the reassuring words of
Mendacious itinerant salesmen,
Venal opportunists promising to
Protect you from your
Recurring, misplaced nightmare and
Restore order.
Things have been tough lately
For Jessica. Her hours got cut
At the fast food place and people
Aren’t hiring as many housekeepers
As they used to.
She’s talked to the landlord who
Won’t budge on the rent being due
Though she’s always payed on time.
She looks at her kids and holds them
When they say they’re hungry.
No pennies left to pinch, so she
Takes a breath and goes to one of those
Loan places with the lighthearted ads.
She walks through the door and,
Minutes later, has money in hand.
Sure, it was hard putting her car up
As collateral, but things will work out.
A week later she visits another loan
Place to pay the interest on the first,
She hopes things will turn around.
He smiles gleefully
And declares that
Money is all that
Really matters.
He retires to
His palatial mansion
Where the private chef
Prepares him a meal.
He keeps busy,
Keenly aware that
Time is money and
Idleness is weakness.
Not a single
Day goes by when he
Doesn’t fend off
A perceived rival.
He fights to the end
To preserve what’s his,
A snarling beast guarding
A horde of gold.
Never a day
Dedicated to
Becoming a
Better person.
Outside a warehouse building
In a tattered part of town,
They line up waiting for
Their bags of food,
Children in tow.
A year ago they would have
Laughed at the idea that
They’d be here with
All the people they
Used to ridicule.
Now they’re part of it,
But looking forward to the
Day when they can go back
To exactly who they
Were before.
Sitting in an air-conditioned office,
Pressed suit, expensive watch,
Latest eyeglass frames,
Perusing the Internet
On an advanced computer.
This morning he drove
From his plush apartment
On a swanky street
Where doormen greet residents
And keep the riffraff out.
Exiting the building for lunch,
He talks animatedly to
His cronies about
His latest theory on
Winners and losers.
