Unscrupulous characters making
Money off fear and hatred,
Upending decency with a smirk,
Pretending to do it because
They care about something,
When they’re really only
Shameless hucksters fomenting
Chaos to line their pockets.
Willing to do anything,
Including destroying people,
To plug the gaping holes
Inside their rotting chests,
The ones that never
Heal, that they try
So hard not to acknowledge,
But that drive them to
Ghastly extremes just to
Satisfy, for a brief moment,
The unmanageable lust for
Complete dominion,
Humanity sacrificed for
Soiled supremacy.
He dismisses complex
Social problems
With casual disregard,
As if no actual human beings
Suffer—
The lack of insight
Common to someone
Who has never had to
Consider anyone but himself.
Carelessly proclaiming
No possible solution,
He guarantees its continuation.
So, anyway,
My car broke
Down in the
Middle of the road
And some people
Wearing outfits
Stopped by and
Killed me.
Eventually coming around,
Kicking and screaming,
As they always do
When confronted with
Anything different.
Consistently on the
Wrong side of history,
They resist as long as
Possible, propping up
A crumbling dam.
Glazed-over eyes,
Brows tightly furrowed,
Obligatory last stands,
The stream flows
In spite of them.
Blissfully easy,
Categorizing a
Human being as
Defective, lazy,
Unworthy of care,
Compassion.
Cruel exercise,
Rendering a person
Featureless,
Expendable,
Trash decomposing
In a gutter.
Crucial shift
From apathy, scorn,
To compassion,
Understanding
That is all of us
But for chance.
It’s really easy to
Go with one’s baser
Instincts, it requires
No actual thought,
Just be rude or
Dismiss someone without
Worrying about it
For even a moment,
Look away,
Pretend you see nothing,
Feel nothing.
Kindness requires
More deliberation,
A conscious effort
To love and value
Yourself, others, the world,
A resolution to go beyond
Self-interest and
Offer peace and joy
To everyone.
Those who bear the burden
Of unusual courage,
Who stand in front
Of an advancing tank,
Or speak against the
Wrongs wrought by a
Corrupt despot,
Who don’t follow the
Standard rules set by
Authoritarians who have
No other aim but to
Keep them compliant,
Subservient,
Those are the people who
Recognize the immense
Pressure the machine exerts
On them when they go
Against the grain,
Advancing an unfamiliar
Alternative that scares
Tyrants to the core:
Empathy, sharing, peace.
One by one,
Often in groups,
They emerge and
No one says anything.
Some day in the
Future, when sanity and
Perspective return,
People will look
Back in disbelief at
How human beings could
Let it happen
Yet again.
