It’s not irrational to
Expect leaders to
Encourage our better nature,
Promoting collaboration
To create a stronger
Whole instead of
Pandering to base
Instincts that keep us
Fighting one another
And destroying our
Shared habitat;
We need not settle for
Selfishness when we
Can realize so many
Things together.
I try to tell him
They mean business,
That this faction is
Different, unable to feel
When someone is hurting,
Devoid of conscience,
Lusting for power.
He doesn’t listen,
They’ve gotten to that
Part inside him where
The nightmares live,
Making it easier for
Them to continue their
Savage conquest.
Each of us can
Love more than hate,
Help one another more
Than compete, understand
Rather than become enraged,
Yet we ignore these gifts.
The only creature that
Can shape its own mind
Repeatedly dooms itself
To self-annihilation by
Not healing its
Unresolved hurts.
It remains not just a dream
To build a world where
We care for one another,
Celebrate our commonalities,
Exercise our innate ability to
Live in harmony.
Too many papers
Festooning my cluttered desk,
Hanging off the edge.
I remember her happy,
Writing glowing, vivid prose.
As long as everyone looked
Like them, believed and
Behaved similarly,
They were happy.
It was only when
People they were not
Familiar with started
Appearing in the neighborhood
That rumors started to spread
About how the new arrivals
Were going to take over and
Destroy their way of life.
Each day her dollar
Buys less and less,
Each expected and
Unexpected expense
Gobbling up a larger
Slice of an already
Meager pie, leaving
Nothing but debt,
Deprivation.
A beautiful tree
Resplendent in clear sunshine,
Verdant limbs swaying—
I adjust my new t-shirt,
Hoping she’s looking over.
They’ve lost everything
And been told it’s the fault of
People who are not like them.
They revolt in anger,
Lashing out at a perceived
Enemy that doesn’t exist,
Ignoring the malefactors
In their midst, trying
To hurt someone back for
What they’ve endured,
Supporting opportunists
Promising to alleviate
Their chronic pain,
Misinterpreting who really
Did this to them.
Thinking and behaving
Courageously, the
Purview of the few who
Understand that the
World is a better place
When we all help
Each other flourish.
