Same hierarchy imposed,
People standing
In rancid cliques pretending
To feel comfortable
In their own skins.
Reliving past triumphs
And the rush that came
From disparaging others,
Walking by with a nose
In the air, punch on the arm.
Years later,
Glory days still fondly
Revisited by husks
Too broken to rewire
The obsolete mess.
Their march will continue,
Until every single
Person believes exactly
What they believe and
Acts exactly as they
Want everyone to act,
And looks exactly like
They all look,
And believes in the
Same fabricated nonsense.
Then they will find
Something else to revile,
Some other group to exclude,
Another contrived target to
Denigrate and spew their
Wretched,
Unquenchable,
Unlimited,
Unreasonable
Hate upon.
A change blows in, barely perceived
Except to those who welcome these
Things. A murmur, a hint, a pinch of
Expectation, hope, elation.
Severity puts on its boots, stomps around
Sniffing the air askance.
Extravagant freshness, dewy possibility.
Expeditiously impress unacceptability on it,
Deny its existence, close the door on
Smiling visitor, well-intentioned.
She attended a workshop required by
Her employer and found that it
Directly contradicted everything
She experienced at work each day.
How to reconcile incompatible philosophies,
Battling worldviews, half-hearted
Gestures to improve nothing.
Sit at your desk, do your work,
An ego will be by presently to
Overwhelm your spirit.
All he’s ever done
Is impose his will
On others,
Trample on their peace
And well-being,
Infringe upon their
Comfort,
Do whatever he wants,
When he wants to.
He’s worked long hours
For many, many years,
Serving demanding patrons who
Often barely notice he’s there.
Every two weeks he checks
His bank account to make sure
His money has been deposited,
The future at stake.
Today his daughter found out
That she has a scholarship
To the local university’s
Medical program.
A couple of tables down,
A woman leans over to
Her husband and whispers
About the foreigner.
They come in the
Middle of the night,
Unannounced,
Uninvited,
To pay a harrowing
Kind of visit where
The host disappears
For as long
As necessary to send
A clear and unequivocal
Message that dissent
Is not tolerated and
That there will be
No protesting against
Any of the glorious
Policies which have
Brought everyone
To this point.
This is what
It comes to and
What it’s always
Been like.
A human being’s
Life extinguished
By a system that
Doesn’t care for him,
About him,
Or his kind,
And a person who
Fears him.
Rabid supporters
Line up
To perpetuate
The sad narrative.
Looking out over the sea of
Beaming, proud, sputtering faces,
He remembers no specific
Moment when he was forced
To decide, but rather a pervasive,
All-encompassing presumption
Of how it should, would be.
His heart’s desires too small,
Too insignificant to compete with
Countless years of tradition
Pulling him into a metal box and
Swiftly sealing it with powerfully
Misplaced notions, expectations.
