poems about brokenness

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.

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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.

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.

Pretending to Live

Imagine what it’s like to have
One event completely transform
You, irrevocably, implacably,
Without any chance of
Change or adaptation,
A grim, remorseless trudge
Toward sordid climes where
People force wounded smiles.
Pretending to live.

Spreading

Able to choose
Any number of positive ways
To behave,
He decides it best
To be confrontational,
Unpleasant,
His needs not met
To his satisfaction,
Moving between interactions,
Spreading conflict and
Unease,
No one ever measuring up.

Crushing

A stranger smiles at her;
She tenses up with anger,
Reliving those crushing
Moments when a smile
Served as a taunt,
A belittling punch to
Keep her in her place,
Anesthetize her joy,
Until she’s ready.

The New Apartment

She’s gone now,
And all he has to
Look at is himself.

Wandering around
The new apartment,
Bumping into things.

No amount of anything
Makes it go away,
That voice.

He mutters something
To himself about
Being right.