Bred, conditioned,
Indoctrinated,
Manipulated,
Convinced.
Weakness aversion
Instruction complete.
Night is day,
Day is night.
Life is meaningless
Unless you
Subdue it.
Prey on those
Who offer the least
Resistance.
Puffed out chest,
Impotent swagger,
Deflated.
Let us travel to a place where
We can leave behind the
Disappointments of the day
And acquire a beautiful new
Condominium with onyx
Counter tops and gold
Towel holders, and one of those
Intercom things that lets us know
Someone is here to visit and
We buzz them in to spend
An afternoon immersing
Ourselves in refreshing
Daiquiris and dancing,
Golden towel holders
Resplendent.
Something feels off,
The way they talk—
Distant, disengaged.
Repositories for dogma,
Inflexible, single-minded.
Defending the cause with
Cold calculation,
Detachment from emotion,
Savage memories repressed.
Entrenched legacy of abuse,
Dereliction of decency.
Competitive advantage
Extracted through
Ruthless exploitation of
Human beings.
Contemptible mindset,
Profit at any cost—
By any means.
An entire culture
Established to use people,
Proudly extolled,
Fiercely defended
Misconduct.
The executives shake their heads
In disbelief, puzzling over
Why their profits aren’t
Higher, after all, they
Just raised prices in order
To dispatch more money
To the exalted shareholders who,
No matter how much they make,
Constantly bellyache
About short-term drops
In profits while slyly
Cajoling the stock to go up
So they can cash out before
It plummets disgracefully.
On the way home from work,
At the drive-through window,
A father of three receives
Less food for his family.
I’m so tired of
Sanctimonious phonies
Telling me how I should behave,
Or what is acceptable to think,
Impaired creatures
Injecting their disease
Into every crevice.
They don’t fool me
Like they do their minions,
Critical thinking swiftly
Dissolves their
Putrid falsehoods.
One family
Has more wealth
Than the bottom
Forty percent of
The population.
Unconstrained upward
Siphoning of resources,
Majority left to
Fight over
Crumbs.
Democracy falters,
Privileged scavengers
Rip the
Carcass of a nation
Apart.
Accolades don’t matter,
Winning isn’t important,
The university you attend or
What you own is
Completely meaningless,
Hollow constructs
Devised and promoted by
Scared, empty people.
The only thing that
Will every help you
Find bliss in life
Is to look within,
Do what you love,
Do your best, and
Love yourself and others.
After all she had been through
She still believed there was
Something else and found it
At the end of a particularly
Draining argument with
Someone who sapped all
Her energy and self-worth.
As she sat empty, despondent,
Alone, she felt it enter her;
A faint but welcome whisper,
Warmth, renewal.
