It’s clear that they
Are unable to understand
What it’s like to be
Systematically put down,
To have your choices limited,
Your very humanity challenged
Because of the color of your skin,
The fear that courses
Through your veins when you
Feel the disdain they
Have for you because they’re
Unwilling to give up what
They’re accustomed to and
Have gained at your expense.
I look at the words
But they don’t elicit any
Kind of memory,
As if it all had
Never happened.
The washer and dryer
Sit unused since
Her death;
He says she really
Did a great job
With them.
He doesn’t use them,
Not because he doesn’t
Know how to, but because
He thinks it’s a chore
Better left to
Someone else.
Innocent people die
Because business
Executives desire
The extra money to
Build giant
Swimming pools in
The desert.
Human beings live,
Thrive, enjoy life,
Because the business
Executives care
For something
More than
Personal gain.
Culture of violence:
Shots ring out with no one
Courageous enough to
Do something about it,
Even when children die.
Culture of violence:
Women systematically
Put down, controlled,
Pumping out babies for
Some dominant reactionary.
Culture of violence:
Children hit for not
Following draconian,
Arbitrary rules imposed
By broken parents.
Culture of violence:
Innocent people killed
For nothing else than
The color of their skin
And someone’s insecurity.
Culture of violence:
Marginalizing and ostracizing
Human beings who don’t
Look or sound like
The herd.
Culture of violence:
Having their rights denied
Because of whom they love,
Being made to feel
Less than others.
Culture of violence:
People in power shaping
The rules to benefit
Only them, relegating
Others to deprivation.
Culture of violence:
Permanent war ripping
Apart bodies, psyches,
Families, the fabric
Of civilized society.
Culture of violence:
Shaping discourse to fit
A narrative of hate
And fear instead of
Hope, kindness, peace.
It’s been too long
Since Dad had a job
Though he dutifully looks
For one; Mom hasn’t had
Any luck either.
They make enough money
To fall behind, at
So-called entry level
Jobs for teens
That are actually
The only source of income
For large segments of
The population, honest
Hard-working people who
Were not born into the
Right family or happened
To be at the right place
At the right time or
Were willing to profit
At the expense of others.
She keeps wishing
For a different result
Although history
Tells her that
Nothing will change,
Everything will remain
Exactly as it is now.
How to restructure the past?
She wonders,
An impossibility
She has not yet
Given up on.
It’s hard to determine
The exact moment when
He lost his sense of hope,
Decided that all that
Mattered was hoarding
As much wealth and power
As possible, building a moat
Around his fragile psyche,
His immediate needs
Superseding everyone else’s.
All that seemed to matter
Was keeping himself and
His own safe at all costs and
With absolutely no consideration
For anyone else, especially
Those he perceives as the enemy.
Every single person
Matters.
No one is more
Important or valuable.
Each human being
Has a unique set of gifts.
We all deserve to be
Treated with kindness.
Everyone can shine
If allowed to.
We don’t have to compete
Against one another.
We’re all in this
Together.
