modern poems

Sham

Holding them hostage,
Preying on their greatest fears,
Providing facile answers
To existential questions,
Threatening terrible punishment
Should they even think about
Straying from under his
Permanent watch.
A con man’s pitch
Delivered by a sociopath,
Separating earnest rubes
With dark sides
From their money
Without them even knowing,
A wink, homily, sham.

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Abstraction

Another denied claim.
On the other end,
Someone doesn’t get
The treatment and medication
They desperately need.
Death is but an abstraction
In this office,
A mirage in the distance,
Not worth thinking about.
She goes home
At the end of the day,
Lives her life
With the money she’s made,
Telling herself it’s okay.

Superior

Words brandished to
Denigrate,
Castigate,
Eviscerate,
Leave for dead.
Worry not about
Lazy,
Flawed,
Common,
Not part of the clique,
Malcontents.
We made it because of
Our mettle,
Exceptional work ethic,
Intelligence.
They languish in dependent
Mediocrity,
No match for
Superior genes.

Big Daddy

An authoritarian regime
Can’t seize power without supporters,
Fearful creatures clutching onto
Fever dreams of a past that never existed,
Exuding cruelty,
Lacking compassion,
Celebrating a terrifying inability to
Feel anything, for anyone, at any time,
Dullards hypnotized by a
Big Daddy promising a golden age
Where they can once again
Step on everyone else’s neck.

How He Looks at People

There is something
Unsettling about
How he looks at people,
A distant, empty gaze
Betraying someone who
Isn’t feeling all that
Settled inside but is
Trying to project
Self-assurance.
He goes about his
Business as if nothing
Is wrong, projecting
Copious confidence until
He inevitably detonates.

The Insecure Kid

He was the insecure kid,
The one who always craved
Attention but could never
Get enough to feel at peace,
A broken, fragile being
Who became a bully
To cover up the trauma,
His parents shouting at him,
Telling him he wasn’t good enough,
Demanding he toughen up,
The sting of judgment,
Absence of unconditional love,
Merciless indoctrination,
Monitored, managed, controlled,
Robbed of his trust and innocence,
Creating a wound he would
Never find the courage to heal.

Just as It Should Be

He sees them as inferior
Because, if they weren’t,
Then they would threaten
His power, status, dominance,
Supremacy.
It’s always been this way,
Him on top, them on the bottom,
Just as it should be,
No need to change things,
That would just make it
More difficult for him.

Endless Opportunity

After her second shift
Today, she stands in
Line at the grocery
Store, the kind where
No one is buying
Extravagant luxury items,
Just dull, unremarkable
Staples made especially
For people without means
Who have no other choice
But to bear whatever is
Tossed at them, knowing
That endless opportunity
May exist somewhere but
Doesn’t show its face
Around here very often.

Enjoy the View

Please stand perfectly still as
I do my rehearsed dance.
I will not take no for an
Answer. Enjoy the view and
My amazing dancing style.
I’m looking good, huh?
You know you love spending
Time with me.
It’s great to be able to hang out with
Someone as wonderful as me.
I know you enjoy watching me
Kiss my muscles.
I wrote this song. Not really but it’s
The type of song I’d write.
Let’s get out of here and go back
To my place.
Yeah, my mom’s house.