Expecting the toxic
To do anything but
Destroy everything,
An impossibility unless
Something changes,
Which it never does,
Certain people being
Steadfastly the way
They are unless some
Glimmer of enlightenment
Finds its way inside,
Healing stark brokenness.
No matter what anyone says or how many
Facts are revealed or how much
Evidence is available or how painfully
Obvious the truth becomes or how dire
The consequences are or how strongly the
Tide of history pulls or how much
Discomfort ensues or how soundly invalidated
Your position becomes or how many opportunities
To shift direction arise or how the voice inside
You reminds you of your folly, don’t budge,
Don’t move, you’re right where you always
Have been, and may always be.
Although she didn’t know it
At the time, she was in the
Presence of extraordinariness,
A person who could inspire
Others and motivate them
To enjoy an otherwise dry,
Uninteresting requirement.
She took everything in and,
When it was over, made
A concerted effort to
Criticize the one thing that
Hadn’t met her standards.
Marching
Together.
Sharing a
Hopeful vision
Of a time when
People will love
One another because
They are all
Basically the same,
Rather than hating
Each other for
Insignificant reasons.
The coming together
Of all people,
For all people,
Unity over divisiveness.
Stop getting
Your love
All over me.
It doesn’t feel great to
Have layers of
Pain thrust upon me,
Expectant eyes
Imploring that I
Return the favor.
Living at the shelter
With her two children,
She hears about a
Room for rent that
She can almost afford
On her earnings at the
Restaurant where she
Smiles at customers who
Have no idea she has
Nowhere to live and
Not enough money to
Change the situation.
Such a beautiful visage,
Alabaster skin, lapis eyes
Imbued with repressive fear,
Pervasive perplexity,
A delicate flower outraged
By the most gentle breeze.
An unfamiliar face
Elicits horror, bewilderment.
A dissimilar lifestyle
Summarily reviled,
Fortified with maudlin pomp,
Virtuous certainty.
Smile, keep up
Your poise and decorum.
Don’t cede an inch,
They aren’t like you anyway,
So pure, so kind,
So lovely.
During all the
Traumatic events
That year,
He tried to assert
Himself, let his
Opinion be known,
Ameliorate the terrible
Pain permeating everything,
Suggest a soft place
Instead of ragged hardness,
But all his efforts
Ended at the same dead end,
An impenetrable wall
Of hurt that no sentient
Being could surmount,
A place where the
Unconscious dwell.
Startlingly conventional,
Seeking simple answers to
Complex questions,
Ambiguity to be avoided
At all costs.
Aggressive, sneering
At anyone who doesn’t
Agree with him,
Projecting unresolved
Rage on bystanders.
Rigid, uncreative,
Profoundly unfulfilled,
Chasing the rush
That comes from
Following the herd.
