poems about justice

A World Transformed

When he heard the words,
He wondered what else he
Could possibly do
To make this type of
Treatment end.

He had worked impossibly
Hard to rewrite his biography,
Surmounting poverty and disadvantage
To become a respected
Professional.

He yearned for a day when he
Could walk down the street
Without being eyed with suspicion,
Shunned because of
His physical appearance.

One day his grandchildren
Would wake up
In a world transformed
By empathy and
Love.

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Everlasting Dream

Paul sat with his grandson
Looking through a faded
Album filled with memories of
A time when people believed
That the world could be different,
Where human beings collaborated
To build a fair society,
A dream that never dimmed,
No matter how loudly the
Voices of conventionality and
Oppression tried to impose
Their unwavering malaise.
Though many years had passed,
He still felt the call of
Peace, love, hope, compassion,
The everlasting dream.

Doctor

On a flight from
Any town to another town
In any part of the nation,
A man falls ill and a
Doctor of a certain color
And gender offers her help
Only to be condescendingly
Rebuffed by a flight attendant
Of a different color who
Believes only certain people
Are doctors.

Identification

Margaret hadn’t voted
Her entire life but felt
That this election would
Affect the course of the
Country for many years to
Come. She registered and
Looked forward to having
Her voice be heard;
She even encouraged some of
Her neighbors to join her.
She got a ride to the polls
On election day, where she
Was told that she didn’t
Have the proper identification.

Looking Back

Looking back over
The history of the world,
It becomes apparent that,
While we could all
Easily live together and
Share resources,
There is always some
Individual or group that
Gains power due to physical size,
Financial strength,
Uncontrollable ambition,
A pathological need to dominate,
And decides it’s a
Great idea to horde
Everything for themselves,
The same creatures
Who brought you every
Monarchy, dictatorship,
Slavery-driven economy,
Separate, unequal society
We’ve ever known
Because they are the
Ones who stop at nothing
To impose their will.

Silenced

As has been the unfortunate
But not inevitable story since
The dawn of civilization,
A significant portion of
The populace is unable or unwilling
To feel another’s plight,
Help someone other than themselves,
Thus complicating the entire concept of
Building an equitable society,
Where people work together with
The understanding that each of their parts
Contributes to a greater whole
Benefiting everyone rather than
Wildly enriching a few opportunists.
As always, they are driven by a fervent
Belief that government should get out of the way,
Let them do whatever they want,
Leave the victims to fend for themselves,
Sever the social contract,
Throw the common good into the fire,
Allow unrestrained exploitation by the
Most aggressive and powerful in a
Violent coliseum that only exists when
The countervailing voice is silenced.

Viable Solutions

It’s so easy
To scream at people
About how lazy they are
Or how little they
Deserve help,
But much harder to
Come up with
Viable solutions
To complex problems,
Although we’ve shown
Time after time
Progress is possible
As long as we care.

The Other Way

Over and over,
They look
The other way
As children
Are killed,
Money and power
Being much more
Important than
Decency.

Reminders

By the chain link fence
Lays a worn-out mattress
Surrounded by shopping
Carts filled with soiled clothes,
Cardboard, part of a lamp,
Chip bags, a few crushed beer cans,
An artificial tree, a few kids toys,
A broken window frame, parts of an
Abandoned bicycle, a car headlight,
Tattered books, various mismatched shoes,
A TV that hasn’t worked since the ’80s.
Once in a while someone walks by
And rummages through this conglomeration,
Hoping to find something of use
Instead of reminders.