He’ll never
Say it out loud,
At least not to
Anyone but his closest
Friends and family
Members who agree
With him, but he
Misses the days when
People knew their place,
And he was at the
Top of the heap,
And nobody
Questioned it.
Once-distant sounds
Intensely reverberating,
Return of suspicion,
Hatred, contempt for the
Unfamiliar, lack of
Tolerance and curiosity,
Marching in lockstep to
The exhortations of
Another furious ringleader,
Vicious howls of recognition,
Slide into darkness.
I saw a person today wearing
A T-shirt defending the
Civil Rights Movement and
I was deeply grateful that
There are people of conscience
Who are willing to stand in
Solidarity against hatred
And bigotry. History has
Shown us far too often
What happens when people
Don’t speak up.
When it became apparent
That things would not
Be as I wished, I still
Held out hope,
Surely there is another way,
One that won’t hurt
So much, that won’t
Make me hate myself.
Many years later,
Everything remains
The same, externally,
Though inside I still
Harbor some slight
Optimism that things
Will change though
They likely won’t.
Once a year,
They call in some
Highly-recommended,
One-dimensional expert
To run a few inane activities
Focusing on the superficial
To the exclusion of
Anything of substance,
Momentarily making them
Feel like they’ve done
Something to address
The pathologies that
Riddle their organization and
Will never deal with meaningfully.
They congratulate themselves for
Being forward-thinking.
They come out
In droves,
Reasserting their
Flagging supremacy,
Sending a message
That they’re not
Done yet with this
Unearned position
Seized by force.
History will reveal
Who they really are.
We’re the ones who wouldn’t
Pay taxes to support schools,
Who fought to deny
Medical care to millions,
Applauded as money was
Taken from working families and
Channeled to the wealthy,
Cheered when corporations became people,
Laughed as the planet overheated.
We’re the ones who self-righteously
Imposed our beliefs on others,
Encouraged discrimination,
Vilified anyone who didn’t agree with us,
Mocked vulnerable groups.
We’re the ones who
Voted in insurrectionists who
Broke the government and
Eroded democracy,
We sat in our castles,
Hoarding our gold,
Looked the other way
When everyone needed help,
Scoffed at the idea that we’re
All in this together.
They say you’re supposed to
Leave the world a little better
Than when you found it,
We didn’t.
There is always
Some individual
Who is more callous
Than others,
And is willing to
Maim and kill
To solely meet his own needs,
Who will not weep
At the end of the day
When the horror of
The slaughter is evident,
And who, in spite of the spoils,
Will live an utterly miserable life.
He feels left behind,
Like he doesn’t
Matter anymore.
Things used to be
So different,
Opportunity abounded.
He and his buddies
Could always count on
A job at the plant.
Then the companies went away,
Leaving behind
Confusion and anger.
He wants to turn it all
Upside down,
Tear everything apart.
He entrusts
The wrong people
To do it.
