People have
Given their
Lives
For you
To say
You’re not
One of those,
So you can
Live the life
You’ve become
Accustomed to,
Reap
The rewards
Without
Putting in
The effort,
Revel in your
Voluntary
Myopia
Aggravated by
Ignorance,
Insensitivity.
It’s funny
How
The way
You look
Determines
How
People
Treat you,
Even
When
You can’t
Change
It.
He’s never wanted
For anything in his
Life, has always had
Access to all parts
Of society and
Every opportunity,
Invariably invited
Into all the clubs,
His name appearing
On each guest list
For a bite of the pie,
Or more accurately,
The whole thing.
He feels great about
His current status and
Screams bloody murder
When anyone is given
The chance to enter
His rarefied echelon
Unearned, unappreciated.
Sitting in the park,
He watches her climb
On a rock, the way she
Looks over to make sure
He’s watching, a flitting
Bird enjoying a sunny
Afternoon, he nods his
Approval, mind straying
To the many times he heard
The gavel come down
Informing him that he
Was not fit to care for her,
The same thing that had
Happened with her mother,
The specter of foster care
Looming over the scene,
Ready to take her into
It’s impersonal arms and
Away from everything
She knows, now but a memory
That never quite goes away.
He arrived at the station,
Baggage in hand,
Destination awaiting.
You can’t treat people with
Kindness, they’ll take
Advantage of you.
You can’t trust others,
They’ll betray you as
Soon as they can.
You can’t talk to certain
People, they don’t understand
The truth.
You can’t change the world
Unless you believe
It can be done.
A group of young people
Converge on a summer camp,
Demonstrating to the world
That human beings
Can come together,
Heal long-standing hurts,
Forgive past trespasses,
Move forward positively,
Smile, trust.
All of them so similar,
Feeling the same things,
Dreaming the same dreams,
Enjoying each other’s company,
Bringing home a message of
Reconciliation and peace
To battle-hardened skeptics
Who have forgotten what
It is to love.
Stripped of
Humanity,
Reduced to a
Faceless
Number,
More easily
Exploited,
Insignificant,
Exhausted,
Used piece
Of detritus
Carelessly
Discarded when
No longer
Needed,
Replaced with
A new object.
In letters to his friends,
As an aside on the golf course,
He voices his disdain for
The leeches, the ones who
Can’t make it because they
Don’t have the initiative
He does, the ones who
Sponge off of others and
Live a life of taking,
The ones he never has to
See as the gates to his
Compound close behind him,
They aren’t as special as him,
He keeps telling himself,
And anyone who will listen.
Retribution is not justice,
Anger is not reason,
Fear is not motivation,
Hatred is not justification.
Vulnerability is not weakness,
Love is not frivolity,
Kindness is not an afterthought,
Empathy is not unnecessary.
