Smoke and Water
Clad in armor
Fit for war,
Weapons ready to
Subdue radicals.
Public square
Hurriedly vacated,
Fleeing through
Smoke and water.
Voices stilled
This day but
Never permanently,
Indomitable spirit.
Welfare
Perverting everything
To support a brutally
Selfish worldview,
Welfare for the rich,
Cast everyone else aside.
Nothing hinders
The inexorable march
For power and spoils,
The hoarding of putrid symbols
Of external satisfaction.
Unaware, uninformed,
A passive populace observes
The overt assault,
Predators circling
Another helpless wretch.
Takeover
Ruthlessly punishing
Human beings who advocate for
Justice and fairness.
Siding with
Ghoulish defenders of
A toxic status quo.
Fearing a takeover
By people who care about
The common good.
Repeatedly
An excruciatingly unwelcome moment for
Someone who so desperately needs to
Be loved. The unwavering stare of flowering
Affection, the heightened awareness,
Euphoric rush intermingled with boundless
Expectation. The last look, final embrace,
A beautiful story relegated to the past
Before it commences, a memory to be
Replayed yearningly, repeatedly.
If One
Problems are unsolvable
If one can’t envision people
Working together to find a solution.
Kindness is impossible if one
Can’t fathom a world where
People are kind to one another.
Compassion is fantasy if one
Can’t care for oneself or feel
The suffering of others.
I Never Thought
I never thought it would be
You who would betray my
Trust, shred my dignity,
Stain my dreams, scoff at
My pain, inject doubt into
My being. A childish game,
Played by a twitching dolt,
Callously consequential.
Tremors
I didn’t realize at the time
That my being was being
Crushed, image manipulated,
Distorted into disbelief.
Moving hesitantly, beseeching
Help for the most simple of tasks,
Waiting for approval that never came,
Tremors of self-doubt enduring.
Erase my horizons, tell me there
Is no sunrise. I’ll come along,
Heart exposed, eager to please,
Unwitting accomplice.
Suffocated
Raging at the driver
In the next lane,
Listening to an
Anger-filled voice
Exhorting hatred and
Violence on the radio,
Arriving at home to
Shout at his wife and kids,
An existence suffocated
By vitriol, fear, unhappiness,
Unresolved issues.
He seeks help.
Entirely Unwelcome
Just as it seemed impossible that
Something else would happen,
It did. Not wholly unexpected but
Entirely unwelcome, it quickly
Altered everything. Nobody was
Sure what to do but for a lone
Clarion, valiant, triumphant,
Unflappable, ignored by most for
More familiar, mundane hand
Wringing and lamentation.