I wish I could cast
You aside like something
That doesn’t matter
Anymore, that’s used up,
Served its purpose,
No longer needed,
But you keep hanging on,
Showing up when I least
Or most expect it,
Reminding me of things
I’d rather forget,
Leaving me no choice
But to fall into
Your familiar arms,
Pervasive past,
Present stifled.
Flaunting the
Fanciest degrees
From exclusive
Institutions of
Higher learning,
They congregate in
Self-serving groups,
Roaring about their
Accomplishments,
Grooming one another,
Completely lacking
Vision or depth,
A herd of ordinary
Matching dolts.
She’s gone now,
And all he has to
Look at is himself.
Wandering around
The new apartment,
Bumping into things.
No amount of anything
Makes it go away,
That voice.
He mutters something
To himself about
Being right.
They gather together
Pretending that
Everything is okay,
Forced smiles on.
This is the
Only occasion when
They experience some
Semblance of normalcy.
It means so much,
Their routine
Existence so
Thoroughly toxic.
The rest of the year,
They meander in a
Disconcerting whirlwind of
Fear, pain, self-loathing.
This one day is
As close as they are
Able to get to
Sanity.
He calls his
Grandson’s passion
A hobby,
Reducing dreams
To dust
In an instant,
Encouraging conformity
To arbitrary rules
Born of fear,
Crushing blooming flowers.
Though he had often
Heard that one is
Supposed to be oneself
And pursue one’s dreams,
The messages rattling
Around in his head
Kept him from doing
What he really loved,
Settling instead on
A pale imitation of living.
Standing in front of an audience
Offering dubious expertise
Projected upon him by
Equally clueless followers,
The mere fact that he stumbled into
Being in the right place at
The right time and made
Mountains of money
Leads people, including himself,
To believe he has some special ability
That others don’t, beyond sheer luck.
He talks at length about
Nothing that matters.
It doesn’t have to
Be this way.
Companies can make
A lot of money and
Pay their employees well.
CEOs can pay themselves
Slightly less,
Build one less mansion,
So that their workers
Can buy a car,
Afford a mortgage,
Send their kids
To college,
Take a vacation,
Set some money aside,
Enjoy life.
Inequality doesn’t
Have to be the norm
Unless those at the top
Want it to be.
He makes a mistake and,
Instead of admitting it,
Blames it on someone else,
Never taking responsibility
For any of his many shortcomings,
Preferring instead to go on and on
About how great and infallible he is.
Everyone around him sees through
His front, it’s just not worth
Calling it to his attention,
He’ll never get it.
