One step after another,
They walk together,
At least they used to.
Things are rather
Different now, but
Neither knows what to say.
Words without import,
One looks at the sky and
Says it might rain.
What if they don’t like what I offer?
Worse yet, what if they don’t like me?
What will I do then?
What will I do next?
If I just think about it a little longer
I’m sure I’ll find the solution or
Deflate like an errant souffle.
What will I do then?
I know. I’ll keep obsessing
Until I’m unable to move.
The placid life of a statue.
That’s what I’ll do.
He becomes upset,
I try to make it better
But realize there’s
Nothing I can do,
And never was.
The one thing they
All knew about him
Was that he had an
Answer for everything,
Greatly overestimating
His actual knowledge,
Which consistently led
Him to not get along
With almost everyone,
Himself included.
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.
Let’s go back
To those heady days
When we could own
People as property
And not pay them
For their labor.
Let’s work them
Until they drop,
Night and day,
As we become
Increasingly wealthier
At their expense.
Let’s close our eyes
To their suffering,
Supplications for mercy
Falling upon hardened
Hearts unable to feel.
As we sip mint juleps
At a garden party,
Lets pretend there’s
No other way to
Do things.
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.
Single-minded, limited,
Inflexible, unyielding
Perspective, unwavering,
Unchanging, ungenerous.
Closed-fisted myopia
Fed by runaway fear.
A history of pain
Repeats itself.
Effortlessly flows the line onto
Paper, tracing its own trajectory,
Following its own muse,
Imbuing its own energy and inspiration
On fortunate space. Pensive,
Thoughtful, thoughtless,
Eclipsed by passion,
Joyful abandon manifest.
Instinctive, automatic,
A whirl of ecstasy.
