He hopes to himself
That he can one day
Transcend this drab world
Of daily gatherings at the
Same old bar with
The same friends talking
About the same exploits
From high school,
Angry at never having
Left this town to enjoy
New vistas,
Closing hearts and minds
Railing against
Anyone who doesn’t
Share their misery.
It’s a symbol of
Our history which,
Although we don’t
Say it out loud,
Is really based on
Fighting for the right
To enslave human beings
To make more money,
A fair arrangement,
In our dead hearts.
And so we find ourselves
Where we’ve always been,
Ignoring sincere pleas
For peace and love and
Hurtling instead toward
Facile vengeance,
The familiar path to
Collective misery,
Huddled in enclaves
Terrified of others,
Darkness strangling the light.
Don’t give up on the dream,
Remember that we’re
Capable of much better
Than out-of-control
Fear and hatred,
There’s another path and
We’re the ones to walk it.
She changes it,
Doubting herself and
Her abilities yet again.
She changes it again,
Realizing how wonderful
Her talents are.
Continuous fluctuation
Between incertitude and
Recognition, celebration.
A pernicious myth
That those who accumulate
A vast amount of wealth
Are somehow better
Than everyone else:
Wiser, more industrious,
Gifted in some way,
When what’s really going on
Is that they were
In the right place
At the right time.
Countless others toil
Just as hard,
If not more,
For far less,
There but for chance.
She’s never known
Anything but the
Opulent wealth amassed
Through the bilking of
Thousands who only
Wanted an opportunity
And met the wrong people
When they were most
Vulnerable.
To cover up for the
Family’s wrongdoings,
She sanctimoniously
Pretends to care about
The less fortunate
While taking away
Everything they’ve got.
She learned well.
Born into a struggling family,
Never enough money for rent,
Electricity shut off regularly,
Parents fighting constantly
Over finances,
Stuck in low-wage jobs
Designed to keep them
Exactly where they are
In perpetuity
By people far better off
Than they are,
The same ones who
Look at them disapprovingly,
Labeling them lazy.
A door opens on a
Narrow lane in a small
Hillside town forgotten
By time. She steps out
Into the familiar mix
Of shadow and light
Playing off stone.
A neighbor walks by,
The perfunctory hello.
Once in a while she sees
A tourist or two, adventurous
Sorts who journey to isolated
Places for an authentic experience.
She wishes she could tell
Them what her life is like,
Ask them to take her with them.
At the point that
You’ve got a group of
People refusing to
Fund education for children,
Gloating about it
Without a hint of shame,
You realize that the
Situation is more dire
Than one might have imagined,
That people can lose the
Part of them that
Cares for others and
Values the common good.
