The only bad thing
About a party
Is that it
Eventually ends,
Although sometimes
It doesn’t end
Soon enough.
He remembers all the
People who said he’d
Never amount to anything,
That he was incorrigible,
Deficient, devoid of promise,
Until he met the kind teacher
Who understood his plight and
Took the time to
Honor and cultivate
His intellect,
Treating him as a human being
Instead of an object of scorn,
A precious, shining, gem.
You, lovely people,
Surfing the web
Late at night,
Or during the day,
Or anytime at all,
For any reason,
On any device,
Rest assured that
We’re taking good
Care of you.
We have a record
Of everything you’re
Doing on there,
And you can trust us
To not use it in
Any weird way.
Please remember we’re
Only doing this for
Your own good,
Because the world is
So scary and we
Have to keep you safe
From our conveniently
Fabricated threats.
Sitting in a stifling classroom,
Looking out the window,
The occasional visitor
Walking resignedly
Toward the office,
A bird flying by,
Glad it’s not in this
Algebra class,
Reveling in its freedom.
An intense stare confirms that
The clock is barely moving
And that the subject at
Hand is all but unbearable,
Incomprehensible to some minds,
Though nobody seems to care.
Facing each other
In a quiet room,
She lets her guard down,
Talking about things
That haven’t been
Allowed to surface before.
He interrupts her,
It being more important
To show how wise he is
Than to simply listen.
Polluting their minds with a
Sordid deluge of misinformation
They willingly immerse themselves in,
All semblance of civility, decency,
Savagely slaughtered, replaced by
Unnerving, unnecessary, unfounded
Cries for justice if not outright vengeance
For packaged, fabricated trespasses,
A resounding victory for the propagandists.
I see his face
Contort, betraying
The inner conflict
That comes from believing
Something that isn’t
True, twisting reality
Into whatever it becomes
When it is extinguished
By raw fear and bias,
Self-preservation at
The expense of others.
They tried to have a
Conversation but it never
Quite seemed to work,
Almost as if they came
From different countries
Or spoke languages the
Other couldn’t understand.
So, they kept it light,
Superficial, avoiding the
Bumps and anything that
Might resemble something
More meaningful.
