He’s lauded as an
Intellectual giant,
Someone who changed
The course of history,
Who left his imprint on
The fabric of the nation,
Who set a course of
Wisdom and conviction,
Except if you’re one
Of the people he hated
For no other reason than
Insecurity or prejudice,
And who suffered because of
His magnificent decisions.
He remembers vividly
The moment he realized
That all they cared
About was themselves
And all they really did
In life was exist from
Day to day, desperately
Trying to avoid the
Hurts from their past
And oozing their pain onto
Anyone in the vicinity.
How sad
To use one’s gifts
Expressly to hurt others
Instead of trying to
Build them up,
Encourage,
Love.
He informs everyone that
It was the other person’s
Fault, that he had nothing
To do with it, just an
Innocent bystander felled
By unprovoked malice, an
Exposed infant at the mercy
Of a ravenous creature.
It’s a tale that people believe,
Not by virtue of it having
Any merit, but rather because
They tell the same stories.
I’m not a racist but
I just don’t trust
Those people.
They lie.
They cheat.
They steal.
They’re
Not
Like me.
We have
Nothing
In common.
It’s always
Been
This way.
There’s just a
Natural order
To things.
I resent
Your
Insinuations.
This
Conversation
Is over.
They look at him
In horror, disgust.
He doesn’t fit the mold,
Isn’t like them.
Discomfort caused by
Unfamiliarity.
Stultifying averageness,
Stay in the lines.
Lack of internal insight,
Loss of perspective.
Remain the same
At all costs.
Beheading
Extraordinary flowers.
He loses no sleep over
Being the one who haunts
Their slumber, visits at
The most inopportune times,
Interrupts otherwise happy
Moments, the one memory
That can’t be erased,
The action unforgotten,
Indelible, an unignorable
Placidity-staining mark.
He goes merrily along with
His life, leaving other
Such trinkets in his wake.
A flaring
Celestial body
Sucking everything in
Toward itself,
Unable to appreciate anything
But its own existence,
Nonreciprocal,
Alone,
Inflated.
How easy it would be
To build one less room
In one’s third mega-mansion,
Pass on one additional
Exotic car, schedule
One less lavish party for
Well-heeled friends where
The bill for the champagne
Alone is more than the
Salaries of the staff
Dutifully attending guests,
Go on one less extravagant
Vacation to Monaco,
In order to build a
World where everyone has
A chance to succeed.
No one needs a one-hundredth
Expensive pair of shoes or
Custom suit when other
Human beings struggle
To find their next meal.
