Brother goes off to school
While I stay at home
Tending to the boiling pot
On the stove, scrubbing the
Floor to a fine shine,
Cleaning the streaks off the windows,
Dreaming of being in a classroom
Traveling to colorful new worlds.
Someone hurt him
A long time ago.
Today, he punishes others for
His inner turmoil.
Seeking help not an option,
Only the perpetuation of pain.
Each day passes,
More fetid than the last.
Sitting by himself
In a staid office,
Accompanied by all
The memories that
Have hardened him
Beyond reason,
A gnarled knot of
Repressed pain issuing
Decisions that routinely
Damage human beings,
A violent vortex
Nothing escapes.
Thanks for explaining
That to me, it was
Far too complicated for
Someone of my gender to
Understand. I’m so glad I
Have someone like you to
Tell me what everything means,
Especially considering that
I have no brain of my own to
Process such things and
Hate having to
Think for myself since I
Only have a doctorate.
Reluctantly they’re forced to
Break character and acknowledge
That we’re all connected,
Not separated by malicious,
Misleading designations
Conceived to benefit the few
Rather than uplifting the many.
It won’t last, their entire
Worldview requires an enemy.
They’ve been wondering when
It would be them and it has
Finally occurred with a
Ferocity they could not
Imagine no matter how many of
Their friends told them
About it, the leveling of
Life, limb, love, in one
Deafening, punishing blow;
A child sits in an ambulance.
This wealthy country
Heeding its bleakest impulses,
Depriving its most
Vulnerable of basic dignity,
Massaging plutocrats while
Ignoring people dying
In gutters from entirely
Preventable causes,
A mighty nation rendered
Ordinary by disregarding
Its higher ideals,
An experiment teetering
On the brink of failure
While a few abscond
With the spoils.