Past events dictating
Present behavior,
Unconsciously adhering to
Erroneous messages
Leading to calamity.
Open the window,
Breathe in the promise of
Vibrant panoramas,
Fresh possibilities flowing
Joyfully forward.
Perhaps they don’t understand,
Or consciously refuse to,
That it doesn’t have to
Be this way.
Pillaging, plundering,
Plunging people into destitution.
A woeful, sustained onslaught,
Taking advantage of others
For profit.
Maybe they don’t realize
That there are any number of
Reasonable alternatives.
Collaboration, caring, empathy,
Leading to success, wealth,
For everyone.
Unthinkable. A philosophy based on
Mutual support, encouragement.
Brighter, more hopeful, possible.
It
Costs
What
It
Costs.
Public education. Universal health care. Help for the vulnerable. Etc.
A radio show host
Poses a question about
Whether we are
Being taxed
Too much.
One caller says that
He works hard for
What he’s got and
Why should he give it
To someone else.
Another caller says
We’re all in it
Together and why
Not help one
Another.
Dramatically divergent
Worldviews.
One lifts all boats,
One sinks them,
Different outcomes.
After all she had been through
She still believed there was
Something else and found it
At the end of a particularly
Draining argument with
Someone who sapped all
Her energy and self-worth.
As she sat empty, despondent,
Alone, she felt it enter her;
A faint but welcome whisper,
Warmth, renewal.
The black gunk
Oozes into every recess,
Especially the halls of power,
Where it buys votes in spite of
The great harm it inflicts,
People gasping for air,
Wilderness besmirched,
Climate changed,
Alternatives strangled,
A few enriching themselves
At the expense of
Everything else.
Living on the margins,
Surviving moment to moment,
Ignored by almost everyone
Except for the very few
Who understand that
They might have been
That very person.
Mom would always
Look stoically into
The distance as
We stood in line
To get that week’s
Staples, handed to
Us in bags, provided
By people we never met
But who had hearts
Able to feel for others
Who might not have
The same opportunities
As them or who are
Where they once were.
And so we find ourselves
Where we’ve always been,
Ignoring sincere pleas
For peace and love and
Hurtling instead toward
Facile vengeance,
The familiar path to
Collective misery,
Huddled in enclaves
Terrified of others,
Darkness strangling the light.
Don’t give up on the dream,
Remember that we’re
Capable of much better
Than out-of-control
Fear and hatred,
There’s another path and
We’re the ones to walk it.
