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.
Against his will,
He is forced to do
Something he doesn’t
Agree with, the machine
Being much more forceful
Than his lonely dissent.
A benevolent experiment
Contaminated by the same
Petty concerns that plague
Countless institutions,
Well-meaning at first,
Later horribly flawed.
They set up a system
That limits certain people’s
Ability to succeed and
Then insult them by
Calling them lazy moochers.
They don’t understand
That myriad hard-working
People don’t succeed
Because they live in a
Country that won’t let them.
All they’ve known is
Privilege and success,
All they do is try to
Make sure nobody
Takes it from them.
They need someone to
Give them easy answers to
Difficult questions,
Tell them what to do and
When to do it,
Condone comfort in
Brutality and selfishness,
Assure them that it’s okay
To destroy the vulnerable,
Assert supremacy so they may
Feel a moment of ease
In their fear-addled minds
While attempting to revive a
False past that never existed.
I never realized I
Was that way until
It happened, life being
What it is, introducing
Its sundry twists and turns,
But I became aware of
Who I used to be, as well as
Who I am today, a person
I used to tacitly loathe
Or one I can look at in
The mirror without wincing.
The saddest of betrayals,
The one who was supposed to
Love her, be there for her
When she was struggling,
Was gone, not in person but
In spirit. He had checked
Out a long time ago, if he
Had ever been there at all.
Trying to keep it
All together,
Every minute a struggle
To drown out
Screams from the past,
Insistent reminders of
Unfathomable horror.
A picture of an imaginary being
Sits on the coffee table,
Providing only
Some superficial
Comfort and solace
Through the constant turbulence.
For years and years
I averted my eyes,
Pretended it wasn’t happening,
Wished against all reason
That it would somehow change.
I was desperately deluded,
What I had felt so vividly
Proved itself lasting,
And remains so
To this very day.
They see her as
An existential threat,
This teenage girl
Whose only trespass is
Advocating for education
For all girls.
So terrified are they that
Women might have the ability
To think for themselves,
To assume positions of power,
That they do the only
Thing they know how to.
She survives the point-blank
Shot to her head, a heinous
Act of cowardice by
Gutless followers who fail to
Understand the resilience
Of the human spirit.
