We’re the Ones

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.

The Spoils

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.

Upside Down

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.

Lapse

Reducing human beings
To categories and fates,
A lamentable history of
Imposed disparity,
Lapse of humanity.

Bewildered

All they know is
Selfishness,
Unable to understand or
Care in any way about
The plight of others,
A hollow existence
Reeking of fear and pain,
Bewildered, suspicious, alone.

Upward

Her income stagnant
For so many years,
Cost of everything
Increasing.

Productivity is up,
Gloat the people
At the top,
Their income rising.

All the money
Flowing upward,
Everyone else
Spiralling downward.

A World Transformed

When he heard the words,
He wondered what else he
Could possibly do
To make this type of
Treatment end.

He had worked impossibly
Hard to rewrite his biography,
Surmounting poverty and disadvantage
To become a respected
Professional.

He yearned for a day when he
Could walk down the street
Without being eyed with suspicion,
Shunned because of
His physical appearance.

One day his grandchildren
Would wake up
In a world transformed
By empathy and
Love.

Everlasting Dream

Paul sat with his grandson
Looking through a faded
Album filled with memories of
A time when people believed
That the world could be different,
Where human beings collaborated
To build a fair society,
A dream that never dimmed,
No matter how loudly the
Voices of conventionality and
Oppression tried to impose
Their unwavering malaise.
Though many years had passed,
He still felt the call of
Peace, love, hope, compassion,
The everlasting dream.

Doctor

On a flight from
Any town to another town
In any part of the nation,
A man falls ill and a
Doctor of a certain color
And gender offers her help
Only to be condescendingly
Rebuffed by a flight attendant
Of a different color who
Believes only certain people
Are doctors.