Some will admit it or
Reveal themselves through
Coarse comments or actions,
Others keep it under wraps
Unless they’re around
Their peers, in which case
It’s a free for all of
Jovial denigration.
Underneath it all
The thing they’ve been told
Their entire lives,
That they’re the rightful
Heirs to the throne.
Questioning, unquestioning,
Transition from something else
Unwanted but without alternative,
More of the same, continuing
Down the path unconscious until
Some other opportunity appears
And changes everything because
We dared to entertain things from
Another perspective and left
Everything else behind.
How to be a pompous rich person:
Be at the right place
At the right time,
Then pretend your success
Is due to your
Exceptional clairvoyance,
Superior specialness,
Rare ability to
Toil harder than
The person washing your dishes
In the tony restaurants you frequent.
Also, look down
On human beings who haven’t
Had the same luck as you,
Say stuff about how they
Aren’t driven, and believe it,
After all, your
Flimsy self-worth and
Brittle facade
Depend on it.
Harsh,
Uncompromising,
Lacking even the
Most basic civility.
Sometimes
Pain obliterates
Everything
Else.
Each day
A new
Opportunity
Missed.
If only there were
Some proven way to
Extract the hardness
From the world and
Replace it with
Softness, kindness,
Empathy, all the things
Damaged people recoil from
And push to the side
As they destroy the world…
There is, and it’s called
Healing one’s hurts.
They were taken aback when
The child spoke freely,
Unencumbered by strictures,
Joyfully sharing his experience.
It felt strange, uncomfortable
To them, but only until they
Realized he had been
Given the gift of a voice.
It’s one thing
To oppose everything
And build your entire
Reason for being on
The premise that you’re
There to block the
Fabricated malfeasance of
An empirically well-meaning
Leader, but quite another
To find yourself in
Charge of things and
Prove beyond a shadow of
A doubt that you never
Knew how to govern or
Even had that intention.
He has no qualms
About letting children
Starve or succumb to
Illness, it’s a
Dog eat dog world
As far as he’s concerned,
And people have it
Coming according to
What he calls morality.
Sitting across
From you enjoying
The time we have
Together, knowing
It won’t last forever,
Wishing it would,
Words that bring
Us joy and sorrow.
