Fortress built
One impenetrable,
Insurmountable block
At a time.
Walls several feet thick,
Impeding progress,
Natural tide held back
If only for a while.
Looking over their shoulders
At adversaries
Perpetually storming
The walls.
A cacophonous din
Arises, obscuring
The obvious fact that
Someone else’s rights
Have been horribly
Infringed upon.
Manufactured outrage,
Grab the pitchforks
And storm the castle,
Preserve the privilege
Of the people who
Least deserve it.
A veil of fear
Falls upon the land.
Outwardly robust but
Inwardly trembling minds
Devise strategies to
Keep everyone scared
To death
Of everything,
Like them.
Pervasive environment
Of insecurity,
A threat around every corner,
Masterminded by cowards
Unable to feel
Vulnerability
Or courage.
Living a hardscrabble existence
Regardless of wealth,
Perceiving the world
As infinitely dangerous.
Nothing will change his mind,
A worldview burned into
His being, inseparable from
Self-image, identity.
Violence, darkness,
Gaping, weeping wounds,
Debilitating fear,
Disheartenment.
The voices won’t
Leave him alone,
Abiding insecurity
Gnaws at his being.
It’s entirely possible
In his mind that someone
Will burst through the door
At any moment.
They’ll steal his things,
Desecrate his domain,
Leave him penniless,
Vulnerable, destitute.
It’s always that way
With freeloaders,
They take what they want
And hurt good people.
He vows to do everything
Possible so that those
Leeches don’t get anything
That’s rightfully his.
Nothing is more important
To him than preserving
His laughable facade of
Strength and authority,
Even the loss of
Important relationships is
Not a deterrent to
Maintaining a lie.
He dies weak and alone,
The way he lived.
Waiting on heightened alert,
Ready to spring into action in a
Millisecond against foes real and
Imagined.
Shadows appear where none exist,
Certainty eclipses rationality,
Bravado masks fear unattended and
Believed.
I thought so much of myself
I married someone who would
Annihilate anything in his path if
He didn’t get his way.
I thought so much of myself
I stood by someone who beat
His chest and belittled others
If they didn’t bow low enough.
I thought so much of myself
I remained complacent and
Mute as plans were put
In motion to mutilate more.
I thought so much of myself
I looked the other way.
I couldn’t go back once
I made the choice.
Making unilateral decisions
Based on self-serving,
Intentionally, maliciously
Skewed information without
The slightest bit of
Awareness or concern for
Fact or fairness,
A system that prizes
Conformity, obedience.
Dead faces executing orders,
Unconcerned, unfeeling.
