Sing a song of hope and courage
For those who have not yet
Found their voices.
Dance a dance of elation and passion
In the name of those who
Deny themselves movement.
Dream a dream for those who
Have none yet and dare not
Speculate on such matters.
Illuminate the world with a
Glow of innocence, enthusiastic
Imagination personified.
A former carny pontificates
At great length about freedom
When what he really promotes is
Abject selfishness driven by
Perpetually flashing images of
What it was like to scrap
For a living years ago,
People stepping on him,
Taking advantage of him,
Looking down on him,
A harsh life of insecurity and
Debasement coloring his every
Waking moment and assuring him
That it’s okay to punish
Everyone else so that he
Doesn’t end up where he began.
Thirty minutes away but
Unfathomably remote.
A vividly painful memory,
Times spent anxiously vying for
Approval, a pathetic dance for a
Morsel of affirmation.
Insatiable craving for attention
Heightened by ruthless
Absence of empathy.
In the distance all things
Recede as if they had
Never existed.
His people once owned
Other people.
He fights hard so it
Never happens again.
His people once owned
Other people.
He fights hard to
Make it happen again.
In a beautiful mansion with
A grand staircase,
Crystal chandeliers,
Sumptuous furnishings,
Expensive art works,
There is a small room
Hidden by a panel,
Off a bedroom,
Lockable from the inside,
Where he can hide
When they come to
Take away what he
Takes from them.
Emily sits at the
Kitchen table unaware
That, nearby, people
Loathe her because of
Something she can’t
Do anything about.
Mom and Dad are getting
Ready for work,
Earning anemic wages at
Companies designed to keep
Them exactly where
They are in perpetuity.
It’s always been this way,
Toiling for nothing,
An honest day’s
Work unrecognized,
A treadmill they can’t
Avoid or escape.
My knotted insides signal a
Debilitating inability to stand up
And let my voice be heard,
To announce my value.
Stop making waves,
Follow the rules.
Nonsense
Rubbed into my brain by
People desperately trying to
Quell entrenched feelings of
Helplessness, unimportance.
Imperious bluster annihilating
Dissidence and love.
Superfluous words of
Instruction, castigation,
Pompously meted out
By the comfortable.
Cavalier imposition
Of distorted morality,
Cruelty promulgated by
Lifeless husks.
An empty plate
Contemptuously
Dropped in front of
The starving.
Build a tidy family,
Secrets and appearances,
Oaths and promises.
Don’t tell what happened,
Never betray this to
Anyone, anywhere, anytime.
A nest lined with falsity,
Hidden from street view
Behind impenetrable
Curtain of scrubbed cheeriness,
Exemplary, faithful, guiltless,
Eternal fear, pressure.
