poems about justice

Chronic Pain

They’ve lost everything
And been told it’s the fault of
People who are not like them.
They revolt in anger,
Lashing out at a perceived
Enemy that doesn’t exist,
Ignoring the malefactors
In their midst, trying
To hurt someone back for
What they’ve endured,
Supporting opportunists
Promising to alleviate
Their chronic pain,
Misinterpreting who really
Did this to them.

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Purview

Thinking and behaving
Courageously, the
Purview of the few who
Understand that the
World is a better place
When we all help
Each other flourish.

Authority and Power

He still remembers the
Dark outline above him,
His mother by the door,
As he was mercilessly
Lashed for some minor,
Random infraction.

Barely making it through
High school, too many
Anxieties roiling through
His mind, he vows to
Do something so others don’t
Have to go through what he did.

He follows a career path that
Puts him in a position of
Authority and power; he feels
It course through his system,
The ability to control others,
Punish with impunity.

Staring at Screens

They know that suffering
People are rendered much
More docile when their attention
Is diverted by keeping
Them continually entertained.

If they’re staring at screens
All day, they won’t have the
Time to look behind the curtain
And realize they’ve been
Deliberately mislead.

Compliance encouraged through
Diversion, careful redirection
Of pain and passion,
Numbing thought and activity,
Uprising neutralized.

Failed State

It’s not so hard to become a
Failed state, just make sure
That those who are in power
Don’t care a whit for the
Most vulnerable in society or
Anyone who didn’t have the
Benefit of being born into
Privilege. Systematically
Weaken vital institutions
That actually help regular
People and then screech about
How government doesn’t work.
Do everything in your power
To make sure nothing functions
For anyone but the rich and
That the less fortunate are
Methodically expressed like
Ripe grapes, their juices
Flowing into bulging coffers
While smug swindlers fly to
Some far-away vacation paradise.

Preventable Tragedy

Another preventable tragedy
Shocks decency, and they all
Stand around, hands sullied,
Complicit in this constant
Violence they pretend is
Senseless but that has
Deep roots in their soiled
Thoughts and actions,
Damaged psyches unhealed,
Aggressive greed,
Retention of power
More important than
The lives of human beings.

Traditional Nonsense

It’s not out of the question
To envision our world as a
Place where human beings care for
Instead of kill each other,
Though certain misanthropes
Who profit from misery
Would certainly disagree,
All that is required is
Treating all people
As the rare and valuable
Gifts they are and letting go of
The traditional nonsense about
Being somehow different or
In competition with one another.

Vulgar

Rough gashes ripped
In the societal fabric,
The contract between
Fellow human beings
Shredded without a care
Solely to protect
Privileged malefactors
Who go about their day
Deriding humaneness,
Stepping on anything that
Gets in the way of
Their vulgar needs.

Their Support

The depths of their
Depravity is predictably
Revealed—they never really
Cared for anyone but themselves
And their own kind but always
Tried to put some kind of
Benevolent face on it.
They show their support for
A dictator in waiting,
Someone who makes their
Broken psyches throb with delight.