He’s an affable chap,
Eager to share an amusing
Joke or anecdote.
He has many acquaintances
Ripe for invitation
To his lavish home
For lively parties,
And to admire the
Fruits of his labor.
He’s lauded as a successful
And generous member of
The community, always
Eager to help those
He sympathizes with.
Occasionally,
Usually by mistake,
Someone will scratch
Below the surface.
A group of young people
Converge on a summer camp,
Demonstrating to the world
That human beings
Can come together,
Heal long-standing hurts,
Forgive past trespasses,
Move forward positively,
Smile, trust.
All of them so similar,
Feeling the same things,
Dreaming the same dreams,
Enjoying each other’s company,
Bringing home a message of
Reconciliation and peace
To battle-hardened skeptics
Who have forgotten what
It is to love.
Stripped of
Humanity,
Reduced to a
Faceless
Number,
More easily
Exploited,
Insignificant,
Exhausted,
Used piece
Of detritus
Carelessly
Discarded when
No longer
Needed,
Replaced with
A new object.
Confronted with his own
Frailties, he crumbles in on
Himself, a reverberating
Collapse of ego.
Steeling himself, jaw
Clenched, eyes hardened,
He lunges forward in a
Gnashing display of
Ferocity, transparent,
Petrified by unrelenting,
Joyless memories.
In letters to his friends,
As an aside on the golf course,
He voices his disdain for
The leeches, the ones who
Can’t make it because they
Don’t have the initiative
He does, the ones who
Sponge off of others and
Live a life of taking,
The ones he never has to
See as the gates to his
Compound close behind him,
They aren’t as special as him,
He keeps telling himself,
And anyone who will listen.
Retribution is not justice,
Anger is not reason,
Fear is not motivation,
Hatred is not justification.
Vulnerability is not weakness,
Love is not frivolity,
Kindness is not an afterthought,
Empathy is not unnecessary.
If you want to
Be part of our
Thing then you
Will absolutely
Submit to any
Rule we impose,
Gut anything we
Say you should,
Cut everything
We tell you to.
It’s for your
Own good,
We know best,
Our fiscal philosophy
Has shown
Time after time
How good
It is at destroying
Entire nations.
He woke up, like every other
Morning, and watched the
Early news while drinking
Instant coffee and eating the usual
Microwave breakfast sandwich,
Muttering to himself that
People should be satisfied with
What they’ve got and quit
Complaining about their
Situations. At least they’ve
Got jobs, they’re better off
Than where they came from.
Nobody ever handed me anything.
Life is hard, there’s no free rides.
The sun ascends above the
Horizon, its rays never
Disinfecting the ingrained
Scarcity of imagination.
Paint me a picture of how
Things were before all joy
Drained out of your psyche,
Replaced by continuous calcification.
Tell me about the times
You acted out of courage
Rather than cowering behind
Dogma and resignation.
Buoy my spirit with your jaunty
Tales of adventure and discovery.
Lets take a break from ad nauseum
Enumerations of broken dreams and
Shattered expectations.
Take my hand in yours and tell me
The world isn’t punishing.
