It keeps gnawing
At my insides,
A dull intruding
Discomfort.
I try to make it
Go away but it
Makes itself at home,
Taking up far
Too much space.
I ask it to leave,
No answer.
Flustered,
Bewildered,
Off-balance.
They seek
Comfort and solace
From the strongman
Promising to
Return them to the
Safety they never
Really felt in the
First place and
Upon which the
Bellwethers rely.
It’s hard to determine
The exact moment when
He lost his sense of hope,
Decided that all that
Mattered was hoarding
As much wealth and power
As possible, building a moat
Around his fragile psyche,
His immediate needs
Superseding everyone else’s.
All that seemed to matter
Was keeping himself and
His own safe at all costs and
With absolutely no consideration
For anyone else, especially
Those he perceives as the enemy.
A humdrum bureaucrat
Sitting behind a nondescript
Desk in a characterless room,
Mechanically filling out
Form after form, as he was
Told to do by somebody,
It doesn’t matter who.
All just numbers, inert objects
To be shuffled around,
Statistics filling page
After page after page.
He takes a sip of coffee,
Picks up the phone to call
His wife about dinner.
We arrive at
The moment we
Knew would come but
Have desperately tried
To avoid,
Fidgeting nervously,
Trying not to look at one another,
The weight of everything
That came before
Urging us to forget.
One person’s other
Is another human being’s
Mother, father
Working long hours
At the distribution
Center, hoping to
Get ahead, rent a
Larger apartment,
Feed the family while
Putting away a few
Dollars here and there
To send the kids to
College, the realization
Of a dream, a generation
Not toiling in sweatshops
Being shouted at by
Those who think they’re
Inferior in some way.
Herded into an austere room,
They are told they have
To perform a solemn duty
On behalf of their country.
No room for discussion,
Just non-negotiable commands
To do as they’re told
By supposed superiors.
They are expeditiously
Separated into groups:
Those who will follow,
And the dissenters.
He has a deep, unwavering
Belief that the world is
A scary place where we all
Have to compete against
Each other, a notion
Stemming from his urgent
Need for power, that someone
Has to win, that there is
Always a group that is
Dominant over another.
When confronted with
Complex, frightening,
Existential questions,
His aggression surfaces,
Ambiguity being an undesirable
Interloper suggesting that
Something has to change
Though the old ways of
Doing things are so
Much more comforting.
Upon assuming a position
Of influence, he toils
Frantically to impose
Severe rules to control
His perceived subjects,
Demanding strict adherence to
His supreme authority,
Beginning his march toward
Obedience and conformity,
Restoring the status quo.
Most would rather
Do anything other than
Look inside,
Guaranteeing stasis,
Choosing being stuck,
Unaware,
Hopeless,
Over reliving the pain
In order to heal it,
Joining the herd
That never experiences
Greener pastures.
