She vowed never to
Repeat what had been
Done to her and,
When the time came,
She did exactly the
Same thing, in the
Same way, with the
Same lack of insight.
This, apparently,
Was the best time
To begin a harsh regimen
Of punishment,
Demonstration of might,
Imposition of hierarchy,
Insecurity chastising
The fruits of ignorance,
An avoidable problem created
By aloofness and disinterest,
Regrettable parenting,
The need to control
Eviscerating all else.
A single pizza purchased
Equally by several people.
Two ravenous vultures
Devour more pieces while
Indifferently telling the others
They should have been quicker.
Regrettable behaviors
Repeated thoughtlessly,
Punctuating self-centered,
Empty existences.
No matter how bad things get,
He will never capitulate,
Unable to let his guard down,
Admit wrongdoing,
Change direction.
Everything is a loss in
The land of broken victors.
People come and go,
Fouled by his egotism,
An unrepentant smile
Betrays his narcissism.
Alone at the end of his days,
He’s still glad he won.
All it takes is
One simple thing to
Incur her wrath—
The temerity to
Not follow her commands.
Mortally wounded,
She viciously lashes out at
Her perceived enemy.
It’s been this way for
As long as she can remember,
And she does nothing
To change it,
That would require insight,
Vulnerability.
After the crusade ends
In carnage and devastation,
They recede into their lairs,
Pretending it never happened,
That they were always
Upright citizens.
Years pass,
They remain the same.
As long as he can
Buy a third house,
Seventh car,
Fourth wife,
He doesn’t care
How much his business
Destroys the planet,
All that matters is
Satisfying his overwhelming
Need to silence the voices
Deep inside that remind him of
Where he came from and
What he’s become.
He walks into the room,
Apprehension creasing his brow,
An unfamiliar setting
Where he’s not in control,
Where he can’t tell people
What to do, where the cold
Spotlight is trained on him and
All his frailties, the ones
He’s tried so hard to hide
And that have hurt so many.
He tries to bark some orders
To gain the upper hand,
But it doesn’t work,
The illusion vanishes
When people know how it’s done.
I realize that
What I thought was authentic
Turned out to be
Something else
Unsubstantial, inane,
A deliberate fabrication
Demanding my time
Giving nothing in return but
Empty stimulation,
False meaning,
Superficiality.
