She lifts up another
Necessity —
Winces resignedly —
Places it in the cart
Alongside all the other
Downsized,
Exhaustively engineered
Staples.
Stopping by the
Gas station —
Sigh of forced
Compliance —
Involuntary participant in
Rigged games,
Nickel and dimed
To extinction.
Eyes slowly, calmly fluttering open,
Deep breaths of still, clean
Morning air on the veranda,
A thoughtfully prepared cup of coffee.
Contentedly enjoying the greenery
In a soft inviting chair.
A restorative peaceful moment,
The comforting warmth of
Everything going well.
Then, sudden, absolute, total
Nothingness.
Tell me your secrets and
I’ll show you mine,
I keep them in a
Nondescript box
Hidden in the attic.
Hold me on your shoulders,
Maybe that way I’ll grow
Taller than I think I am.
Lift me higher than possible and
Let go as I take flight.
A dismissive
Defensive rebuttal
Followed by a list of
Inadequate reasons,
Justifications,
Rationalizations.
Outright denial of
Advantage based on
Outward appearance,
A system designed to
Favor certain people
While crushing others.
Slowly but surely,
Establish uniformity of
Speech, dress, belief.
Heighten nationalism,
Crush dissent,
Persecute intellectuals
Artists, the so-called elite.
Castigate learning,
Mistrust books – except one,
March in lockstep,
Everyone the same,
No one out of line,
On penalty of death.
Coalition of plutocrats and industry,
A pall descends over the land.
There’s a small restaurant I
Particularly enjoy. Carefully prepared,
Hearty fare, deeply satisfying and
Unstuffy. Interesting people talking
Animatedly about the latest goings on.
Smiling faces, delightful company.
Time passes with casual unhurriedness.
You walk in.
Easy to ignore
Their existence,
Not part of daily
Experience, concerns, routine.
No personal connection.
Perhaps they come into
Occasional view, some
News story about distant
Problems, those people
Doing what they always do.
Unperturbed by mentions of
Strife, decay, struggle.
Walk down the hall,
Well-appointed office,
Comfortable detachment.
With one stroke of a pen,
And a clueless
Self-satisfied smile,
He continues his
Sadistic march
Toward making sure
Millions of people
Can’t afford health care.
In times of encroaching
Authoritarianism,
One of the only safeguards
We have to protect democracy
Is the fourth estate,
Unless it too is compromised
By corporate interests or
Takes the form of
Partisan propaganda masquerading
As news in order to perpetuate
A one-sided brutal agenda
Portending calamity.
