Speak English

Supervising yet another
Renovation to her mansion,
She hears a worker
Utter some words in a
Foreign tongue and
Quickly admonishes him
To speak English, without
Any consideration for
A fellow human being’s
Plight or life experience,
Ignoring the glaring reality
That not everyone has parents
Who read and write in
Their own native language,
Let alone a new one,
But it’s much easier to
Chastise someone for not
Being able to speak one’s
Preferred patter than
It is to understand
Their story.

As Usual

I guess I expected
Something else but,
As usual,
The same thing happened
And I’m left feeling
The same inadequacies,
Which is what I’ve
Always done.

A Place of Kindness

Their dead eyes
Reflect a dearth of
Self-love, which
Affects their ability
To care for anyone else,
Which, in turn, makes
It exceedingly difficult
To build a society where
People care for each other.
The good news is that
People can change,
And have demonstrated
Time after time that
It’s possible to live
From a place of kindness.

Collective Conscience

A group of people
Living in peace and harmony,
Supporting each other for
The common good.

One person emerges
Who craves a larger slice of
The pie for himself,
To fill a hole.

Balance interrupted,
Collaboration obstructed,
A test of their
Collective conscience.

Swimming against a Torrent

A complete absence of self-awareness,
Manifesting as the total lack of
Ability to see the effect of one’s
Toxic actions on others,
Perpetuating an unchanging
Cycle of discomfort and suffering
Mangling anything in its path and
Rendering reason insignificant.
Swimming against a torrent,
The suffocating swirls of hurt
Pulling one down until
No self remains.

The Myth of the Self-Made Man

The myth of the
Self-made man:
He rises from poverty and,
By sheer will,
Determination, and
Hard work becomes
Wildly successful,
All on his own.
The truth behind
The myth: The man
Was born into a
Society that allows
For success and provides
The governmental framework,
Social conditions,
Public services, and
Physical infrastructure
That permit someone
Like him to
Enjoy great fortune.
Another often-overlooked
Detail: The staggeringly
Monumental chance that the
Man is born in the right
Place and at the right time
To prosper.
Countless equally
Hard-working people don’t
Get the same breaks,
Don’t arrive at
The ideal time.
It could just as
Easily been him
Struggling for a lifetime.

Nothing Works

We try everything we
Can think of and
Nothing works,
Consult experts
To no avail,
Wonder if it
Will ever pass.
Everything resolves itself,
We’re told,
While wondering whether
It’s true at all.

Rushing to Get Ready

Rushing to get ready
For some lavish function;
She barks a few orders
At the woman who cooks
All the meals, cleans
The whole house,
Raises her children,
And has a life, too.

A Fine Evening

A group of well-dressed,
Impeccably-coiffed
People relax in a
Posh restaurant,
Enjoying drinks and
Waiting for their order.
A light conversation
Rapidly becomes tense
When someone’s feelings
Are hurt which, in turn,
Causes someone else to
Become incensed, which
Leads to someone else crying
While two others argue
In the corner and someone
Else storms out of the room
On such a fine evening.