A familiar scene
Repeated with startling
Regularity.
One person,
Riddled with fear,
Discriminates against another.
The next step is to
Cry foul and insist the
Victim is the perpetrator.
Building a house of
Maudlin self-pity,
Pretending they’re persecuted.
Maiming others
With impunity by
Claiming self-defense.
Human suffering
Appears to have
Absolutely no impact
On him.
He doesn’t seem
To care at all whether
A child goes hungry
Or a mother falls ill.
No concept of
Fairness, equality,
Or trace of most
Basic compassion.
Nobody ever helped him,
Completely self-made,
At least that’s what
He tells others.
I tried to explain
Over and over but
He wouldn’t listen.
No matter how little
He really knew about
The situation,
He still heard
Only his own voice,
He always knows better.
He has to win
All the time,
Or everyone loses.
Tantrum after
Horrible tantrum
Erupting.
An ugly spectacle
Writhing on
The floor.
A change blows in, barely perceived
Except to those who welcome these
Things. A murmur, a hint, a pinch of
Expectation, hope, elation.
Severity puts on its boots, stomps around
Sniffing the air askance.
Extravagant freshness, dewy possibility.
Expeditiously impress unacceptability on it,
Deny its existence, close the door on
Smiling visitor, well-intentioned.
Glad-handing each
Other, a winking
Back-slapping herd
Plans its next
Assault on the
Defenseless.
Not a single
Compassionate
Dissenting voice
Beseeching to
Stop the
Carnage.
Another day passes
Uneventfully as the
One before it.
Walking through the halls,
Smiling at only
The right people.
Forming the cliques
Required to establish
Power and position.
Practicing the stratagems
Necessary to secure
The circle of influence.
Predetermined steps
Up the ladder,
Preserving the club.
A bright light shines
On his embalmed face
As he promises the
Screaming throng of
Sycophants that he’ll
Destroy everything that
Provides safety and
Dignity to the destitute.
A roaring cheer explodes;
Finally, the prospect of
Putting the power back
Into the hands of those
Who least deserve it.
Teary eyes hoping for a
Better day for the chosen,
A far worse plight
For everyone else,
As it should be.
He becomes upset,
I try to make it better
But realize there’s
Nothing I can do,
And never was.
