So afraid of the churning
Rabble of miscreant panhandlers
Maliciously trying to get
Their grubby hands
On his wealth,
He went to great pains
Minimizing and demonizing,
A self-appointed,
Scepter-shaking saint,
Piously declaring
Them trash.
Keep quiet.
Don’t you know that
We’ve always done it
This way and we don’t
Even whisper about any
Other options.
Change is not something
Contemplated often in
These circles, if ever,
Just the same old
Boring perpetuation of
Everything that came before,
Without any thought to
Improving any of it,
The same results
Choking off all hope.
A mob of privileged
Brutes gleefully singing
About never letting
Some (expletive) into
Their clique.
Not an isolated incident,
Yet another typical
Example of the seething
Contempt one group has
For another.
These things don’t appear
Out of nowhere,
Carefully cultivated,
Encouraged by
Role models.
Upstanding citizens in
Places of power
Perpetuating hatred
And division without
The slightest remorse.
They send each other
Frequent e-mails
Mocking his race
Without the least bit
Of remorse or awareness
As to how they are
Hurting a fellow
Human being.
Truth be told,
They don’t really
Consider him to fully
Be a person like them.
It’s all a game
When you’ve never been
The target of
Despicable insults,
Of demeaning epithets
Uttered by people who
Hold you in the
Deepest contempt for
No other reason
Than how you look
And how powerless
They feel inside.
They just
Don’t get it,
What it’s like
To be demeaned
And belittled
For nothing else
Than the color of
Your skin,
The feeling of
Hateful eyes
Sizing you up
When you go
Where you’re not
Supposed to,
The contempt you’re
Confronted with
When you speak up
In any way,
The stinging pain
Of being
Looked down upon
Day after day.
You can’t do that.
You don’t matter.
You’re not important.
You’re worthless.
You’ll never amount to anything.
Color inside the lines.
Stick to the script.
Don’t rock the boat.
Don’t talk back.
Keep it to yourself.
Forget those dreams.
Be someone else.
Live the life you’re told to.
Follow the rules.
Surrender.
So she began, with
Hopes and dreams and
Excitement at what the
Future might bring.
Arranged everything, as
She’d been taught and
Introduced some new, fresh
Ideas with optimistic intention.
Not enough for those
Who had lost the luster.
Years of being tumbled around,
Disoriented, missing a compass,
Hearts expired, vision clouded.
Excitement stifled, passion quelled.
Encouraged to behave just like the others.
Color inside the lines.
He knows exactly
Where they all are,
Ready to help him
When they show up,
He’s rehearsed it
Many times in his head,
A twitching crusader
For absolute order,
Pitifully unsafe in
The midst of all
His friends, the
Ones that don’t talk
Back, that make him
Feel more potent,
Briefly worthwhile,
Some kind of cowboy.
It starts imperceptibly –
Gains momentum –
Grows stronger –
Craves ever more power –
Eradicates the arts and intellectuals –
Mocks knowledge and reason –
Clouds the truth –
Creates chaos and disarray –
Imposes order by force –
Subjugates its own people –
Destroys its enemies –
Subverts democracy –
Stops at nothing.
