The washer and dryer
Sit unused since
Her death;
He says she really
Did a great job
With them.
He doesn’t use them,
Not because he doesn’t
Know how to, but because
He thinks it’s a chore
Better left to
Someone else.
Culture of violence:
Shots ring out with no one
Courageous enough to
Do something about it,
Even when children die.
Culture of violence:
Women systematically
Put down, controlled,
Pumping out babies for
Some dominant reactionary.
Culture of violence:
Children hit for not
Following draconian,
Arbitrary rules imposed
By broken parents.
Culture of violence:
Innocent people killed
For nothing else than
The color of their skin
And someone’s insecurity.
Culture of violence:
Marginalizing and ostracizing
Human beings who don’t
Look or sound like
The herd.
Culture of violence:
Having their rights denied
Because of whom they love,
Being made to feel
Less than others.
Culture of violence:
People in power shaping
The rules to benefit
Only them, relegating
Others to deprivation.
Culture of violence:
Permanent war ripping
Apart bodies, psyches,
Families, the fabric
Of civilized society.
Culture of violence:
Shaping discourse to fit
A narrative of hate
And fear instead of
Hope, kindness, peace.
It’s hard to determine
The exact moment when
He lost his sense of hope,
Decided that all that
Mattered was hoarding
As much wealth and power
As possible, building a moat
Around his fragile psyche,
His immediate needs
Superseding everyone else’s.
All that seemed to matter
Was keeping himself and
His own safe at all costs and
With absolutely no consideration
For anyone else, especially
Those he perceives as the enemy.
What it must be like
To wake up every
Morning and know that
You have to defend a
Way of life shrouded
In secrets, untruths,
Misdirection, inauthenticity,
Points of view steeped in
Dissonance. Struggling to
Make things fit that
Were never meant to,
Pretending to be someone
You’re not, not a moment’s
Peace, suffocating artifice.
They understand the
Galvanizing power of
Perceived peril and
Are more than happy
To invoke the existential
Threat of the day to
Keep people in a heightened
State of alert, unable to
Think about anything but
The imminent danger they
Face as their pockets
Are expertly picked.
He’s lauded as an
Intellectual giant,
Someone who changed
The course of history,
Who left his imprint on
The fabric of the nation,
Who set a course of
Wisdom and conviction,
Except if you’re one
Of the people he hated
For no other reason than
Insecurity or prejudice,
And who suffered because of
His magnificent decisions.
One supposes that it
Would be in everyone’s
Best interest to educate
All the members of a
Given society so that they
May all have access to
Some dignified level of
Personal and professional success
And build a stronger nation,
But there always seem
To be voices shouting about
How there’s no way we
Can give everyone equal
Opportunity. Using any
Number of rationalizations,
They try to convince themselves
And anyone who will sympathize,
That there is some reason
That they deserve to be on top
And others should suffer.
He informs everyone that
It was the other person’s
Fault, that he had nothing
To do with it, just an
Innocent bystander felled
By unprovoked malice, an
Exposed infant at the mercy
Of a ravenous creature.
It’s a tale that people believe,
Not by virtue of it having
Any merit, but rather because
They tell the same stories.
Human beings regularly
Show extraordinary altruism,
Helping each other in
Times of desperation,
Supporting one another
Without expectation of
Personal gain, building
Caring bonds across social
And cultural lines.
Former strangers become
Close friends through
Gestures of kindness.
It’s been proven over and over
That people don’t have to fight,
That they can share resources
Rather than compete,
Transcend greed and coexist
In peace and harmony,
As long as they don’t heed
Those who have something to
Gain from perpetual discord.
