She’s made her choice:
Careening through
Life spewing hate
And divisiveness.
Sure, she makes a lot
Of money, and is often
Recognized in restaurants,
But that’s where it ends.
When she gets home and
Takes off the persona,
She has to live with
What she’s become.
Once again,
He does something that
Turns his world completely
Upside down, and not in a
Good way, forcing him to
Do much more work than he
Would have had he paid
Just a little more attention
At the very beginning of
The whole endeavor.
A condescending
Pat on the head
Is all he gets
For standing up for
Those who have nothing
And a system that
Routinely denies
Basic opportunity.
It’s just the way it is,
Platitudes regurgitated by
People who can’t envision
A world where
We take care of
One another and
Compassion is the norm.
Ignoring ignorance
And indifference,
Always moving forward
Toward a brighter day.
When I let go
Of the need for
Someone else to be
Something else,
I find that I’m able
To breathe again,
Go about my business
Without the all-consuming
Fever that keeps me
Tied to anger,
Unable to move in any
Direction but down,
Wondering why I’m
Not acceptable.
He works hard at
Inciting a riot,
Inflaming the mob
Until the only option
Is taking out their
Abundant, misplaced hate
On that abstract other,
The person they fear most,
The reflection of their
Own insecurities and
Total lack of insight.
After many years,
The tempest passes.
A warm glow fills the sky,
Verdant meadows glistening.
The chirping of birds,
Flowers swaying in the breeze.
So much time spent in hiding,
Time to go out and enjoy.
Breathing in deeply,
Everything better.
A ragtag group of
People unhappy with
Where the country is going
Assemble to voice
Their anger at a
System that has
Let them down.
Waving flags,
Chanting slogans,
United in their vitriol,
They rail against
The people who aren’t
Making their lives
More difficult.
In a Swiss bank account
A tidy fortune slumbers,
Carefully tucked in
By one of the few
Who betrays the trust
Of the many, turning them
Against their only allies.
It opens its wary green eye,
Suffusing the environs with a
Rotten, infirm cast of animosity and
Torment. It insecurely demands
Detail and explanation, stopping at
Nothing in its quest for answers.
Its vexation is a permanent parasite,
Leaching life out of all it penetrates.
He feels so small that
Everything he does is to
Become bigger
Than anyone else, so no one
Can get to him the way
They did.
Suppressing yet another
Burst of emotion, he transforms
Sadness into blinding rage against
The tormentors who
Look at him askance or
Make him feel
Less than huge.
The accoutrements of weakness
Surround him,
He relishes the fleeting rush of
Confidence.
