Reminders

By the chain link fence
Lays a worn-out mattress
Surrounded by shopping
Carts filled with soiled clothes,
Cardboard, part of a lamp,
Chip bags, a few crushed beer cans,
An artificial tree, a few kids toys,
A broken window frame, parts of an
Abandoned bicycle, a car headlight,
Tattered books, various mismatched shoes,
A TV that hasn’t worked since the ’80s.
Once in a while someone walks by
And rummages through this conglomeration,
Hoping to find something of use
Instead of reminders.

No Fanfare

They leave him
Lying there,
No fanfare,
Over the top public
Displays of grief,
Protracted processions,
Overwrought eulogies.
A lifeless piece of meat
Laying in the street,
Less than human,
What they really
Think of him,
Why they kill without
A second’s pause.

Ponder Options

Will it or
Won’t it?
Conclusion unknown,
No answer forthcoming,
The only recourse available is to
Ponder options,
None of which are pleasant.

His Town

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.

Acceptance

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.

Tossed Aside

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.

Peace Is Not Possible

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

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.

Real Patriotism

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.