poems about justice

Her Place

She dares speak her mind,
Asking for equality –
A chance to succeed
Unencumbered by antiquated
Notions about what
She can and can’t do.
Upsetting confining structures
Erected by insecure tyrants
Who bristle when their
Dominance is questioned.
A simple plea for fairness
Met with scathing reproach,
Urgent calls for retribution
Because she has the temerity
To ask to be treated with
Dignity and respect rather
Than be relegated to what
They deem her place.

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Preposterous

There is no absolute,
Immutable law stating
That employers need to
Take advantage of their
Employees in order to
Make more money.

No one has to become
Wealthy from exploiting
People who have no other
Choice but to work for
A corporation that
Doesn’t care about them.

Owners could as easily
Choose to treat workers with
Dignity and respect,
Pay them a living wage,
Value their humanity,
But that would be preposterous.

Little Lady

Such a beautiful
Baby girl.

Let’s teach her how to be
A little lady.

Let’s fill her with
Fear and self-loathing.

Let’s tell her that
She should answer to men.

Let’s advise her not to trust
Her own voice.

Let’s encourage her to
Do our bidding.

Let’s rejoice as she
Defends her oppressors.

Unbothered

Ah, it would be great
If we could go back to
Those heady days when
We ran filthy factories
Attracting myriad mendicants
Applying for menial jobs.
So invigorating when
We could do whatever we
Wanted to do, unbothered.
Stripping people of their dignity,
Paying them nothing for it
While our assistants wheeled
Carts of cash to the bank and
We sat by the pool smoking
Imported cigars and
Sipping fine whiskey.
One can only hope.

False Equivalence

They say they’re all the same.
Throw them all out,
They’re all on the take,
Except that some of them
Want everyone to be
Treated with compassion and
Others don’t.
Some want to help the
Poor succeed and
Others don’t.
Some want to level
The playing field and
Others don’t.
Some want everyone
To have access to health care and
Others don’t.
Some want equal rights for all and
Others don’t.
A cursory look reveals
Both sides aren’t the same
At all, but the trope lives on,
Just as those who benefit
From false equivalence and
Confusion want it to.

Austerity

A brilliant idea,
Saving the economy
By decimating essential
Programs, rendering
Millions destitute while
Pouring money into
The coffers of those
Who least need it.

A pall of austerity
Sucks the air out of
The unfortunate many,
Invigorating not the
Economy but fattening
The top percentile
Feasting on pheasant
Hunted on the estate.

Couch

Not much money
Coming in these days,
Bob got laid off and
My warehouse hours
Are still part-time.

We had to move recently,
Needed some furniture
For this place,
It’s not much but
It’s home for now.

This couch here,
Found it at a place
Where we can pay
A little each week and
Buy it over time.

What We’ve Become

So this is
What we’ve become,
Or have always been
But hid for a while,
A land where
It’s acceptable
To put people down
Because you’re
Scared of change or
Anything that’s different,
A place where
The crushing weight of
Authority imposes
Its will and is welcomed
By far too many.

Acknowledge

It’s far easier to
Say that those living in
Poverty are somehow
Flawed, lazy, deserving
Of their plight, than
To look at oneself
And acknowledge that it’s
One’s own beliefs,
Actions, values,
Contrived moral outrage,
That perpetuate a
System that keeps people
Right where they are.