I saw her on a bus travelling down
A busy thoroughfare, on the way to
A bustling downtown. Our eyes met and
We exchanged a smile. She stood up,
Brushed a strand of auburn hair off her face,
Rang the bell, and got off at the next stop.
As the bus drove away our eyes met again.
My mind in turmoil, I hastily approached
The bus driver and asked to be let off
Between stops. I’m sorry sir, that’s against
The rules, he said deadpan, staring straight ahead.
The next stop too far away.
Don’t agree with the rules?
Tough.
Don’t like the hours?
Deal with it.
Low pay?
Nobody’s telling you to stay.
No time off?
Work waits for no one.
No benefits?
That’s not our problem.
No bargaining rights?
There’s plenty of people
Who would be happy
To have your job.
Any questions?
How safe I feel until it appears:
Lashing, shoving, upsetting
My calm certitude. Rattling,
Confusing, shaking the walls of
My nerves. Look around and wait
In tense anticipation for tranquility to
Return. Try in vain to disregard the
Haphazard din, continuous thrusts.
Calm arrives, disquiet remains.
Impenetrable block,
Reason need not apply,
Dysfunction supreme.
Pandering to bullies,
Ripping lunch money away
From the weak kids.
Cavalierly upending the table,
Food flying everywhere,
Nobody was hungry anyway.
Disrobe and drive home to
Plastic families,
Untreated pathologies.
The rage arising
From not having a voice,
Being denied the
Dignity of sharing
What’s on one’s mind,
Participating as an equal
In the conversation,
Listened to,
Uninterrupted,
Treated as someone
Who matters.
One thousand times he tried and
One thousand times he was denied.
The one thousandth and first attempt
Someone finally saw what everyone
Else had missed. The singular genius
Flowing from his heart, discovered by
Exactly the person who could see it.
As if their circumstances
Were caused by some
Deficiency of character,
Some cultural proclivity
Leading to destitution.
Latent hatred masquerading
As fact, blanket statements
Smothering the light,
Assumptions based on
Equivocation, obfuscation.
Marginalization.
Keeping them in their place,
Where they belong,
Away from us in our
Bastion of cowardice.
Why is it that everyone in my
Office works so hard on being
So rude? Would it be so difficult
For people to be nice instead of
Condescending and snide?
What is the allure of creating chaos and
Disturbance when peace and balance are
Viable options? People walk around with
Their inner processes on their sleeves,
Working out their issues on each other.
I remain silent, unrecognized.
Cold indifference
Permeates the minds of legislators
Posing as conviction.
An insidious malady
Steeped in pain, fear, enmity,
Driving compassion away,
Replacing it with punishing policies
Harming hard-working citizens
Whose only mistake is
Lack of power.
Intense suspicion of government
Spawns initiatives
Gutting vital services
Leaving a desolate landscape,
A walled-in mansion surrounded
By a scarred wasteland.
Destitute souls walk aimlessly
Across the bleak landscape
For someone else’s anxieties.
