It requires no
Wisdom, imagination,
Courage, to do
Something awful
To someone else.
It’s easy to exclude
Others from joining
One’s little game,
Keep their grubby,
Different hands off things.
It’s far more difficult
To let go of fear and
Reach out to people
In need, no matter
Who they are.
On this sweltering
Summer day,
The water discharges
Brown out of the tap,
Laden with all manner
Of contaminants and
Unhealthiness,
Provided to her and
Her family by officials
Who only care about
Giving all the money
To people not like her.
Detached.
Abstract.
As if what he believes
Has no real consequences.
Ignore.
Avoid.
Ramifications
Out of mind.
Pretend.
Suppress.
It takes a particular
Personality to vilify
Another group just
Because it doesn’t
Agree with one’s own
Biases, an entrenched
Fear and mistrust of
Things that are different,
A compulsion to classify
Whole groups of people,
Forcing them into a
Box labeled enemy.
On his day off,
He gets a call to
Come in to work though
He was just there
Seven hours ago.
Last week he was
On his way to start
His shift and they told him
It was too slow,
Go back home.
Jobs are few and
Far between here,
There are mouths
To be fed and
Dreams to put on hold.
It’s not only the
Disturbing lack of
Empathy permeating
Their actions, but
Also how uniformly
They’ve become
Radicalized,
Common decency,
Social conscience,
Quaint terms to be
Maligned, abandoned
In favor of abject
Heartlessness.
The difference lies
In that they only care
About absolute power.
Collaboration
Doesn’t matter, only
Total domination,
A primal compulsion
To be in control to
Somehow make up for
Feelings of instability
Deep within, not a
Moment’s thought for
Anything other than
Immediate cravings.
He’s unable to
See the world
From someone else’s
Perspective, an
Unimaginable
Shortcoming
For someone who
Is in charge of
Caring for others.
She works full-time
For a large
Restaurant chain and
Still doesn’t make
Enough money to pay for
A dental appointment
Which, of course, isn’t
Something her employer
Offers as a benefit,
It being far more important
To make sure those at
The top are taken care of.
