Many years spent together.
Many conversations and the
Shared, familiar laughter of
Congenial experience.
Harmonious chatter,
Joyful exchanges.
Always there for me.
Always understanding what I was
Thinking or saying. Always talking,
That’s how I returned the favor.
Now I make up stories about
How you were because I
Never asked or listened.
So close to the
Problem at hand,
Failing to see any
Simpler solution,
Though many exist.
Compulsive obsession,
Absolute focus on
Undesirable options,
Unknowingly banishing
Common sense.
A moment of clarity,
Scenario viewed
From a different angle,
Yielding far better
Results, tranquility.
Perhaps it’s the
Repetition of ideas,
Labeled as common sense,
Rehashed and regurgitated
Way too many times,
Losing their original sting,
The memory of stern faces
Telling them what to believe,
The inability to bounce back
From the continuous onslaught,
The required rationalization
Of reprehensible positions,
That leads them to conclude
And say out loud,
Without a second thought,
That some people merit
Unconditional derision,
Exclusion, punishment.
As with most of the
People she surrounded
Herself with, Samantha
Preferred to live on
The surface, stumbling
From one experience or
Heartache to another,
Leaving buried the more
Meaningful things that might
Lead to actual fulfillment,
Pretending everything
Was fine and manageable.
A slimy, diseased presence
Insinuating itself into daily
Discourse, spreading spores
Infecting the conversation,
Blurring the lines of veracity.
Small, petty, diseased creatures
Bloviating about the latest
Manufactured outrage,
Anti-truth serum pulsating
Through collapsing veins.
Feeding more coal into the fire,
Stoking the flames of discord,
Prurient power fantasies,
Conscience gagged, extinguished,
Kneeling at the altar of money.
She comes to
His home
Once a week.
She cleans the
Toilets, washes
His clothes.
She vacuums and
Dusts everywhere,
Mops the floors.
Her ever-present
Smile is a
Welcome sight.
He interacts with
Her in a
Polite way.
Below the surface,
He disdains
Her kind.
It’s so easy to fix
All these problems,
All you need to do
Is transform the ethos
Of people who would
Rather hoard everything
For themselves and
Introduce the idea that
It’s okay not to have
All the money or power
Or have to dominate
Everyone and everything,
That one can live a
Life of deep beauty and
Dignity with just the
Company of one’s own
Healthy conscience.
I don’t mind
Giving to others,
I’m a charitable person,
Taught well by my parents.
I know the difference between
Right and wrong,
I was brought up to
Help others
Less fortunate.
I’m always there for
My friends, family, colleagues,
But not them.
Mendacious malefactors
Gleefully ditching integrity
For fistfuls of cash
Diverted to secret accounts.
Terrifying the rubes,
Making them look the other way
While separating them
From what little they
Still clutch.
Venal peddlers of untruth
Wrapped in mantles of righteousness
Threatening to blow up
The whole thing if they
Don’t get their way.
Predictably oppressive regime
Bent on absolute power and control,
Simpletons demolishing honor
In the name of personal gain.
Malevolent farce masking
Complete incompetence,
Merciless extortion.
