It doesn’t have to
Be this way,
Predators tearing
Apart the less fortunate.
There are many other
Options that don’t require
Winners and the
Inevitable losers.
The naysayers have proven
What kind of world we
Create when we base it on
Hurt and avarice.
Inner wholeness and
Love for each other
Yields far better results,
If we allow them to flourish.
They come from
All over the
Countryside,
From small,
Forgotten villages
Bereft of opportunity,
To living under
A bridge,
Covered by a
Sheet of tin,
In the shadow of
Gleaming skyscrapers.
Under the guise of
Revering personal freedom,
A huckster carny
Palavers to dismantle
Vital institutions that
Build civilized societies
A pernicious warrior declaring
That government should be
Severely curbed, for no other
Reason than an appalling
Absence of caring, compassion,
Sense of community.
Duplicitous kingpins
Promise a land of
Fairness and good
Old-fashioned competition.
Reality more like
A trap for everyday
People struggling to
Not be swallowed whole.
Pervasive myth of a
Self-correcting system
That provides for
Everyone.
Affecting an appearance of
Piety while harboring
Vitriolic hatred toward
People who aren’t like him.
Many have paid the price
For his unchecked
Emotional instability and
Tormented tirades.
They couldn’t say anything
For fear of being destroyed
By a roaring avalanche
Of twitching authoritarianism.
He started with
A single restaurant,
The first franchisee
In a small town.
Constantly toiling
To make a decent living,
Persevering through
Countless challenges.
Over the years,
His business grew and
He eventually owned
Many establishments.
He celebrates his
Good fortune by
Keeping his employees’
Wages exceptionally low.
Unstoppable rip current of
Ruthless malice, selfishness,
Eroding everything in its path.
Rapacious plunderers protecting
Coddled mega corporations
From horrible regular people
Struggling to make a living,
Pay the mortgage, as
Water pours in,
Dissolving their dreams.
Sandbags disintegrating
Against incessant onslaught,
Wall breached by marauders
Hungry to despoil the
Social contract,
Promising prosperity,
Delivering suffering.
In the break room
At the giant retailer,
They put together
A collection box
For families that
Need help over
The holidays;
Help from people
Who have no money
To people who have
Even less.
Corporate lords
Snicker in vast
Mansions as their
Employees wither,
Their pay not enough
To sustain them
And their families,
Public assistance
A necessity.
Organizing a spaghetti feed
For a sick child
Instead of supporting
Universal health care.
Raising funds for local schools,
Then voting for people who
Cut education funding and
Endeavor to privatize it.
Gathering clothes
For the poor while
Demonstrating against
A living wage.
Commonplace paradoxes,
Caring people destroying things
They claim to support.
Unhealthy contradictions.
