It’s really not
That complicated,
Though so many people
Have such a hard time
Figuring it out;
Just live your life
Without stepping on others,
Be kind, giving,
Enjoy your time on
This earth by being
Someone who understands
We’re all in this together.
He’s worked long hours
For many, many years,
Serving demanding patrons who
Often barely notice he’s there.
Every two weeks he checks
His bank account to make sure
His money has been deposited,
The future at stake.
Today his daughter found out
That she has a scholarship
To the local university’s
Medical program.
A couple of tables down,
A woman leans over to
Her husband and whispers
About the foreigner.
Don’t avoid me,
Assuming I’m
Different from you,
Trying to hurt you.
Talk with me instead about
How we can work together,
Fix what needs fixing,
Solve what needs solving.
As rivals we compete,
As friends we build
A new world
We both enjoy.
They come in the
Middle of the night,
Unannounced,
Uninvited,
To pay a harrowing
Kind of visit where
The host disappears
For as long
As necessary to send
A clear and unequivocal
Message that dissent
Is not tolerated and
That there will be
No protesting against
Any of the glorious
Policies which have
Brought everyone
To this point.
Let’s go back
To those heady days
When we could own
People as property
And not pay them
For their labor.
Let’s work them
Until they drop,
Night and day,
As we become
Increasingly wealthier
At their expense.
Let’s close our eyes
To their suffering,
Supplications for mercy
Falling upon hardened
Hearts unable to feel.
As we sip mint juleps
At a garden party,
Lets pretend there’s
No other way to
Do things.
His forebears fought
Mill owners for
Some modest bit of
Dignity at work.
Not so many years later,
He ascends to the
Pinnacle of his profession,
The highest seat of power.
He takes the hard-fought
Lessons of the past and
Ruthlessly maims them,
Juris without prudence.
A snide retort and sneer
All that remain of
A legacy of struggle
For fairness.
Work eagerly so we can
Pay you less.
Work efficiently so we can
Cut other jobs.
Work reliably so we can
Ask you for more.
Work energetically so we can
Make more money.
Work dejectedly so we can
Erase benefits.
Work loyally so we can
Leave you hanging.
Work unorganized so we can
Do what we want.
How easy it is
To sit in overstuffed chairs,
Impugning the character
Of people who have no power,
Live on the fringes of society,
Toil in menial jobs while
Making life easier for
Their assailants.
Subsisting in the shadows,
Unseen by most,
Routinely disparaged but
Whose fruits are consumed
Without reservation.
No effort required
To kick the defenseless.
He sits rotting
In a cement cell,
It was predestined,
Really could not
Have turned out
Any other way
Given the brutality
He faced as a child,
Abject impoverishment,
Empty stomach,
Mind developing
Without the benefit of
Dignified schooling,
Moldy leaking ceilings,
Insurmountable odds
For anyone but the pompous
Blowhards who pontificate
About how anyone can
Pull himself
Out of misery without
Any help at all,
With an entire system
Rooting for his failure.
Sure, the occasional
Anomaly escapes the dungeon,
The one in one-hundred thousand,
Held up as an example
Of real opportunity,
But only an exception to the
Rigged rule,
The countless others ignored.
