There’s no epiphany here,
No emergence of conscience
Where they realize that
What they’re doing is
Unequivocally reprehensible,
Or that some kind of
Immediate change is imperative,
All that seems to matter is
Covering their tracks,
Concocting some ridiculous story,
Lying to protect each other
So they can continue doing
What they’ve always
Gotten away with.
He has a glorious dream
About a perfect world
Free from the stifling
Tyranny of government,
Where corporations can
Do whatever they want,
And some magic force
Takes care of everybody
Except, of course, for
The poor and most others.
Unable or unwilling
To understand what
It is like
For a child to
Wake up each morning
Without a home,
Without food,
Without books.
They are all alike,
And she’s not,
Nor has she ever
Wanted to be,
A wave of ordinary sameness,
Each following
The same insipid song
Toward some distant cliff
Where they’ll all jump off,
Just because that’s
What everyone else does.
The tree’s branches
Have grown into another yard,
One where such things
Are not welcome and can only
Be dealt with in one way.
Plants must conform to
Strict standards of
Manageability,
Unobtrusiveness,
Acceptable stature.
Though the tree might be
A welcome spot of greenery
In another setting,
Spirited growth has no place here.
Holding his father’s hand,
He wonders how long it’s
Been since they left home
And how much longer they
Would have to walk through
This arid wasteland, so
Far away from everything.
Not knowing where it is,
No idea,
No recollection,
Anxiety, guilt,
Fear that it is about
Much more than
The object,
A transition to
Something else.
My granddaughter and I sit
Together and I tell her
About a time when we
Finally resolved to
Take care of those
Less fortunate than ourselves,
That the collective whole was
More important than any one person,
No matter how wealthy or powerful,
That a little girl like her
Was just as valuable as
The richest man on earth,
And everyone was cherished.
With the money from
A single bloated military
Contract, they could give
Every woman, child, and man
A million dollars, or rebuild
Our public schools, expand
Health care, develop alternative
Energy, create a jobs program,
But they decide the common good
Doesn’t matter as much as
Fattening the pockets of
Corporations to bursting.
