poems about power

Endless Opportunity

After her second shift
Today, she stands in
Line at the grocery
Store, the kind where
No one is buying
Extravagant luxury items,
Just dull, unremarkable
Staples made especially
For people without means
Who have no other choice
But to bear whatever is
Tossed at them, knowing
That endless opportunity
May exist somewhere but
Doesn’t show its face
Around here very often.

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Angry Mob Rises

Their ultimate goal
Has always been rule by
An aristocracy.

To get there they have to
Convince vulnerable people to
Vote against their own interests.

It must be done without
Letting their victims know
It’s happening.

They devise a concerted
Campaign of obfuscation and
Disorientation.

They demonize various groups,
Categorizing them as
Evil, foreign, other.

They starve vital institutions
And then blame it on a
Failure of government.

They wave flags and
Appeal to raw
Nationalism.

They exploit the very
Fear and uncertainty
Their own policies engender.

They set up a
Media apparatus that
Constantly blares the message.

The opposition does nothing
To stop the onslaught,
Providing no counterbalance.

A bewildered, angry mob rises,
Making desperate choices
Based on blatant misinformation.

Erosion

Lowest
Common
Denominator.

Appeal
To
Ignorance.

Erosion
Of
Truth.

Authority

He has the authority
To protect people,
It’s his job,
He chooses instead to
Intimidate and terrorize,
A monster working out
Unresolved personal issues on others,
A deep lack of inner security
Manifested in outward bullying,
Craving power and control,
Repaying those who originally
Eviscerated him,
Abusing with impunity.

Mentality

Having had the optimism
Flogged out of him,
He subconsciously gravitates
Toward the first thing that
Promises order and comfort,
Something he’s never had
Nor currently enjoys.
Pretending to feel better inside,
His actions direcly contradict
Blank pronouncements on
Virtue and character,
None of which exist
In his constricted mentality.

Do Nothing

Willing to let
Sick people,
Children,
Senior citizens,
Anyone who is not them,
Die,
Because they’re too afraid of
Losing power.
Nonchalant cruelty
Delivered with a
Hypocritical smile.
We can’t do anything about that,
Or that,
So we might as well
Do nothing.

Hollow

Constant conflict
Without respite,
Continuous struggle
For dominance
Obliterating any
Semblance of
Functionality.

Crushing competition,
Someone always
Has to win,
Someone loses,
Tumultuous,
Hollow
Existence.

Services

Their public services were
Just fine when their
Elected officials cared
About people, then came
A different group that
Assured everyone the
Private sector could and
Would do a better job.
Over time, it became clear
That businesses were indeed
Proficient at making profits
For themselves but
Not so great at providing
The services that people
Had grown accustomed to and
That now cost more and were
Less reliable due to the
Omnipotent bottom line.

Giant

Disrupt
Divide
Disorganize
Disorient

Much weaker
Alone
Against
A giant

Confuse
Disarrange
Shuffle
Obliterate