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.
Everyone asks him
About his fancy new car;
He revels in the attention,
Offering gleefully meticulous
Explanations about everything
From how he bought it to
What’s going on under the hood,
A conspicuous absence of any
Conversation of real substance
Or a life of any significance
Beyond what everyone is
Already comfortable talking about,
A group of people standing
Around wearing masks.
A cluster of cubicles girdling
Many dreams. Methodical, mechanical,
Ordered, contained, managed
Minds focused on the completion of
Dire duties, sublimated creativity.
A voyage, perhaps to some beautiful
Destination unblemished by rules or rigidity.
Potential unfettered, possibilities
Countless. Roam wherever, whenever,
Destination unconsidered, inconsequential.
Mile after mile of
Abject gloom,
Not a glimpse of
Sunshine.
They keep walking,
Knowing they will
One day arrive.
Unwittingly,
Irrevocably
Steeped in a
Culture that rewards
Superficial displays of
Bluster masking
Crippling insecurity.
A child flexing his muscle,
Immersed in the language and
Lifestyle of violence,
As if nothing;
Perpetuating misery,
Dysfunction.
Normal, average,
Middling, standard,
Tolerable, humdrum,
Garden variety mediocrity.
Common tyrants
Trampling promise.
Dime a dozen
Sullen orthodoxy
Hit me with your
Unexceptional best,
Banal executioners,
Unremarkable.
It is the tone of the letter
That is initially off-putting.
Reading on,
Nothing changes.
It’s the same thing
As always…
Words intended
To hurt,
From someone already
In that state.
They robbed him of
His trust, took away
His safety, denied
Him kindness, replaced
It all with harsh words
And threats of pain.
He likes to pretend
That everything’s okay
But he thinks and behaves
In ways that mirror
What he went through,
Perpetuating the cycle.
It’s not that he
Wants to be this way,
It’s that he believes he has
No other choice,
To interrupt it would mean
Reliving the horror.
He wasn’t always this way,
There was a time when he
Woke up with dreams of
Peace and love,
Vast horizons beckoning,
The joy of discovery,
Hope for a better world.
When the first windfall
Came his way, he pushed
Everything else aside,
The optimism, delight,
Crushed by the weight of
The fear of losing it all.
