Another child lies dead,
His killer exonerated,
A life less important.
Entrenched power structure
Preserved, secured,
Protecting its own.
Few tears shed by the
Part of the community
That sees him as other,
An animal to be subdued.
A grieving mother and
Father shake their
Heads in resignation.
Outrageous
Injustice,
Plain to see
To everyone but
The transgressors
Who perpetuate
Maltreatment.
Indifferent
To the plight,
Pain, systematic
Violation faced by
People who
Have never had
Another choice.
A monument to one
Belief system
Unilaterally
Raised in front of
A public building.
Morally uplifting,
Righteous, sacred,
Manifestation of
Dictated certitude,
Relentless campaign.
Unidimensional truth,
Authoritarian imposition
Without regard for
Diversity, divergence.
Intolerance incarnate.
Whenever someone
Speaks the truth or
Threatens to pull back
The curtain,
Dismiss their thoughts
As folly.
Whenever someone is
Lying in a gutter
Begging for help,
Dismiss it as
The natural
Order of things.
With beady eyes,
Strained countenances,
False smiles,
They promise perpetual
Happiness by giving
Up the self, a willful
Transfer of power
From within to without,
Grounded in fear,
Subservience, ignorance,
A denial of fact for
The comfort of
Unwavering certainty.
Do what we say,
Live the right way,
You will be rewarded
Some day, send your
Everything today.
Itching for a fight,
Show them who’s boss,
Impose order,
Protect the community
From people like them.
A routine day,
Surveying their domain,
Stalking the next victim,
Taking away another’s dignity,
Excessive overreaction,
Unnecessary assaults,
Quenching a blood thirst.
Paragons of virtue
Castigating with impunity,
Dutifully toiling,
Subdue and harass
Those animals.
Knocked around as a kid
He has a thing for weapons
And getting into it with others.
He’s always had to toughen up
Even when it seemed weird,
Never made him feel better.
Barely made it through high school,
His career path was set anyway,
Serving up some justice.
Wielding a club that gives him
Power he never had before,
Time to show his stuff.
Not much money
Coming in these days,
Bob got laid off and
My warehouse hours
Are still part-time.
We had to move recently,
Needed some furniture
For this place,
It’s not much but
It’s home for now.
This couch here,
Found it at a place
Where we can pay
A little each week and
Buy it over time.
So this is
What we’ve become,
Or have always been
But hid for a while,
A land where
It’s acceptable
To put people down
Because you’re
Scared of change or
Anything that’s different,
A place where
The crushing weight of
Authority imposes
Its will and is welcomed
By far too many.
