contemporary free verse poetry

Special Ability

Standing in front of an audience
Offering dubious expertise
Projected upon him by
Equally clueless followers,
The mere fact that he stumbled into
Being in the right place at
The right time and made
Mountains of money
Leads people, including himself,
To believe he has some special ability
That others don’t, beyond sheer luck.
He talks at length about
Nothing that matters.

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Inciting a Riot

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.

Final

Galling.

The sheer magnitude of
His inability to
Admit responsibility.

No need to start
Now, he’s never had
To concede anything.

Appalling.
Sad.

Final.

Tempest

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.

One Less Mansion

It doesn’t have to
Be this way.
Companies can make
A lot of money and
Pay their employees well.
CEOs can pay themselves
Slightly less,
Build one less mansion,
So that their workers
Can buy a car,
Afford a mortgage,
Send their kids
To college,
Take a vacation,
Set some money aside,
Enjoy life.
Inequality doesn’t
Have to be the norm
Unless those at the top
Want it to be.

Mistake

He makes a mistake and,
Instead of admitting it,
Blames it on someone else,
Never taking responsibility
For any of his many shortcomings,
Preferring instead to go on and on
About how great and infallible he is.
Everyone around him sees through
His front, it’s just not worth
Calling it to his attention,
He’ll never get it.

Your Opinion

I don’t care
If you don’t like
What I do,
If it confuses,
Threatens, or angers you.
Your opinion is no longer
Of any consequence to me,
As it regrettably
Used to be.
Things are different now,
I’ve changed.
I’ve grown.
I’m no longer who
I used to be.
I love what I do.
I love me.

He Looks the Other Way

Unable to see
The consequences,
Unwilling to do
Anything to lessen
The damage.
He looks the other way,
Even when faced
With shocking evidence
Of the anguish caused
By his actions,
Desperately
Avoiding introspection.
He’ll never know
What causes it all,
He’ll never try
To figure it out,
Everyone else will
Just have to suffer.

Chap

A brutally unpleasant chap
Raised in a poisonous family,
Doing horrible things.
It comes so naturally that
He’s lost count of all the
Unfortunate beings he’s destroyed.
Making life miserable
For as many people as possible
Evinces nary a shrug,
No remorse,
Not even for a moment,
Damage perpetuating devastation.
Getting help to be a better person
A completely laughable concept.