Only the victors matter.
If you don’t win
You’re a loser.
Expendable,
Ignorable,
Worthless.
You either
Make it or
You don’t.
It’s up to you.
We’ll make sure
You get no help.
Formidable castles
Surrounded by
Afterthoughts.
A moment of unexpected,
Irrational fear,
Fleeing from a predator
Where there is none,
Subconscious poison
Introduced long ago,
A passing observation,
Furrowed brow,
Explicit statement,
Unanticipated display
Followed by shame,
Though not in some,
Which is why it
Persists.
Light doesn’t get in here,
Only an unsettling dullness
Feeding unconsciousness.
Judgments arrived at
Through thoughtlessness,
Ferocious fear.
Enlightenment derided,
Hurt the only
Acceptable currency.
Another reflexive reaction
To imaginary threats,
Absence of love.
Not a moment’s peace for her,
A self-imposed trajectory
Unimpeded by introspection or
Even the faintest understanding
That maybe things
Could be different.
She’s become so used to
This particular routine,
Refusing to consider any other,
Shallow depth of field,
Never seeing the horizon.
He goes off on yet
Another long-winded and
Excruciatingly boring commentary
On some topic he thinks
Makes him appear erudite but
Is really just another
Desperate attempt to be
More important than others,
Trying to overcome the
Voices of disapproval that
Won’t leave him alone
No matter what his title.
In this family
We keep secrets,
Protect oppressors,
Condone behaviors
That cause
Lasting damage,
Pretend everything
Is perfect,
Scornfully reject
Ideas that might
Make things better,
Never growing,
Just maintaining.
He writes something kind
About me and I, instead of
Simply thanking him or
Savoring the moment,
Immediately wonder why he
Didn’t say something more effusive,
Doubting whether I’m good enough,
The compliment rendered null,
Insecurity extinguishing joy.
Confronted with a conundrum,
Summarily dismissed as
Not important, relegated to a
Dark basement where notions are
Left to rot until rediscovered by
Unsuspecting eyes, flummoxed by
Distressing absence of insight,
A bug scampering away when
A light is turned on,
Festering complications left
Unanswered by a staggering
Scarcity of sapience, valor.
Publicly utter a
Discriminatory
Epithet.
Play the bewildered
Victim when people of
Conscience notice.
Benefit from kindred spirits
Starting a funding campaign
To support your bigotry.
Keep moving forward
With great vigor
And disregard.
Never learn
Anything from your
Reprehensible actions.
Call yourself
A defender of
Righteousness.
