They tinker around the edges,
Making changes that have no
Real effect and often weaken
The underlying structure.
They claim it’s all about
Accountability, performance,
But it’s really about dismantling
Institutions that help the public.
Never mentioned at any point is
The necessity to fully fund
Meaningful programs that
Benefit the vulnerable.
The hard-working
Son of a sharecropper,
He leaves the sweltering
Heat of his small shack
And walks down a
Dirt road toward the
Center of town,
Where all the
Tidy buildings beckon
And well-appointed citizens
Stroll through clean,
Tree-lined streets,
Nodding to each other,
And where he’s never
Felt quite welcome.
He remembers the stories
His parents told him
When he was a child.
“Everything will be okay,”
She reassured me, but
I knew that this time was
Different, I had seen it
In history books, where
Things start to unravel
Due to some strange
Confluence of events and
The people who cause them;
Unbalanced, undesirable,
Leading in an entirely
Alarming direction.
Remember that time when you
Tried to start that thing that drove
You crazy and made you doubt
Who you really are and caused
You to flee into a situation where
You had even less control and
Wished you could return to the
Time when you simply were
Fearful of what you didn’t know?
Bright, shiny,
Absolutely beautiful.
Bursting with excitement,
Potential, optimism, intelligence.
A whole life of
Unlimited possibilities awaits,
Places to go, people to meet,
Dreams to be made real.
Not so fast,
We do things a certain way
In this family,
In this town.
Clamp on rusty shackles of
Societal expectations, constrictions.
Know your place,
Be a good girl.
She felt unwhole and did the unwholesome.
She felt unloved and loved no one, including herself.
She felt unsatisfied and so her life went.
A slow, tortuous, paralyzing journey to places
She didn’t want to visit, with people she could
Not have cared less about.
Flipping through the images stored on a chip
As cold and impersonal as the experiences
She pretended to enjoy.
Things haven’t been
Going too well lately
In our little town.
Sure, we’re still proud of
Where we’ve been and
Who we are but
Times are tough,
You gotta do what
You gotta do.
Yesterday the senior center
Shut down, tomorrow the
Food pantry closes its doors,
A week ago the high school
Told kids to share books,
Music and art programs
Disappeared years ago.
Tough choices,
It’s gotta be done.
I immediately see it
In his eyes,
Just beneath the bluster,
Pervasive fear, and
Not just a flicker but a
Fully formed flame,
Pleading for solace,
Some kind of relief from
All these years of pain and
Everything he’s done to others to
Try to silence the agony.
He doesn’t let me in, but it’s
Clear he knows I know, and
Quickly moves on to the
Next person who doesn’t.
She talks about
An entire system
Set up to benefit
One group of people
Who never have to reflect
On why things are this way or
What it does to those
Not favored.
The people she’s talking with
All react with
Defensive outrage,
Proving her point,
Unaware of their privilege.
