His town isn’t like
It used to be,
Main street was always
Bustling with people
Living their lives,
Sharing some conversation
About the weather or something
Going on at the mine.
He walks down tattered streets,
Boarded windows announcing
The memory of former tenants,
An occasional dour face averting
His gaze, nothing to do
Down here anymore and
Nobody who cares about any of it.
Jaw clenching, he vows to force
Someone to listen by voting for
The same people who did this.
I hear the same words
Coming from different
Mouths in slow motion,
With great conviction,
No doubts or hesitation.
They all describe
A disconsolate landscape of
Hopelessness and futility,
An entrenched acceptance of
Callousness and cruelty.
We’re all on our own,
They mutter grimly.
I’m transported to their
Formative years when someone
Important told them that.
Each and every
Sordid action
Shockingly demonstrates
They care nothing
For the less fortunate,
Indecency flaunted as virtue,
Cruelty the preferred currency,
A landscape littered with bodies,
Just another piece of refuse
Tossed aside by loathsome ghouls.
You can tell me that
Peace is not possible,
But I know otherwise,
Because, every single day,
I see people loving each other,
Co-existing harmoniously,
Giving up self to help
A stranger in need,
Someone other than them who
Might benefit from a
Word of kindness,
A gesture of solidarity.
So, if peace is not possible,
I say that’s most likely
Only inside you,
A reality, thankfully,
That can be changed today
Should you so desire.
You have no idea
What my life is like
If you’ve never been
Called a derogatory name,
Denied a loan,
Been turned away
From renting a home,
Had your integrity or
Intelligence questioned,
Watched some person
Cross the street because
They see you coming,
Been harassed by people
In positions of authority,
Told you’re less than human,
Kept as property to
Make other people money,
Just because of
The color of your skin.
We sat together and
She told me that in her
Many years on this earth
She had come to understand
That real patriotism is
When you care enough
For your fellow citizen
To make sure she has
A job that allows her to
Support her family,
Health care when she
Falls ill, clean air,
Water, food to nourish
Her body, parks that
She can enjoy on her
Her time off, a genuine
Opportunity to move up,
Buy a house, own a car,
Travel, learn, enjoy,
Thrive instead of survive,
Have her voice matter,
Live with dignity rather
Than barely making it
Because some callous
Group of broken beings thinks
Only they are deserving.
Perpetual war keeping
People transfixed on
Existential questions
Instead of rationality.
The dull hum of constant
Death and destruction,
Lives obliterated over
Unsettled matters.
Of course it doesn’t
Have to be like this,
Healing being a far more
Desirable outcome.
Profoundly mediocre,
Unsavory, disreputable,
Elevated to
Undeserved status by
Followers projecting
Their insecurities upon them,
Characterless swindlers
Preying on the defenseless,
Benefiting from misery.
She stares at her daughter,
The same one who was filled
With joy and promise just
A year ago, the one who
Dutifully did everything
She was asked and never caused
A problem, a ready smile
Brightening the world around her.
She learns that her daughter
Lives in a tent
With an abusive man who
Has impregnated her.
Inside, she rages with shame,
The gall of this child,
Homeless, alcoholic, ungrateful,
Making her look bad.
