poems about power

Punishing

Paint me a picture of how
Things were before all joy
Drained out of your psyche,
Replaced by continuous calcification.
Tell me about the times
You acted out of courage
Rather than cowering behind
Dogma and resignation.
Buoy my spirit with your jaunty
Tales of adventure and discovery.
Lets take a break from ad nauseum
Enumerations of broken dreams and
Shattered expectations.
Take my hand in yours and tell me
The world isn’t punishing.

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Manifest Reality

At the agreed upon time,
The group meets,
A ritual repeated
Over centuries,
Solemn reverie,
August observance.
Barely acknowledging
Each other, a smattering of
Small talk bows to
The more important
Business at hand.
Intense concentration,
Frustration builds as
Unmitigated determination to
Conquer becomes and
Exercise in manifest reality.
Words acquire barbs,
Vying for position,
A flaccid display of
Misplaced bravado and
Unregulated juvenility.

Race Thing

It’s reported that
The whole race thing
Is really not much of
A concern, bordering on
An afterthought for many,
Easily dismissed,
Of no real consequence,
A very different view
From having epithets
Shouted at you or being
A permanent suspect,
Second-class something,
Berated, harassed,
Handcuffed, maced,
Clubbed, shot for
Being exactly as
You were born.

Stain

Startled and enraged
By the light of progress,
They scurry out from
Their hiding places to
Shriek for their right
To hate, impose their
Distorted dreams of
Inequality and fear.
Artifacts from a
Shameful past,
Idealizing the
Trespasses of their
Forebears, standing up
For malevolence,
A ghastly stain,
Total absence of
Compassion, love.

Unsaid Things

It’s painfully obvious
That there are many
Unsaid things that he
Needs to express but
That he will never
Articulate because it’s
More important to win
Than to love.

Where He Began

A former carny pontificates
At great length about freedom
When what he really promotes is
Abject selfishness driven by
Perpetually flashing images of
What it was like to scrap
For a living years ago,
People stepping on him,
Taking advantage of him,
Looking down on him,
A harsh life of insecurity and
Debasement coloring his every
Waking moment and assuring him
That it’s okay to punish
Everyone else so that he
Doesn’t end up where he began.

Happen Again

His people once owned
Other people.

He fights hard so it
Never happens again.

His people once owned
Other people.

He fights hard to
Make it happen again.

Expensive

In a beautiful mansion with
A grand staircase,
Crystal chandeliers,
Sumptuous furnishings,
Expensive art works,
There is a small room
Hidden by a panel,
Off a bedroom,
Lockable from the inside,
Where he can hide
When they come to
Take away what he
Takes from them.

Where They Are

Emily sits at the
Kitchen table unaware
That, nearby, people
Loathe her because of
Something she can’t
Do anything about.

Mom and Dad are getting
Ready for work,
Earning anemic wages at
Companies designed to keep
Them exactly where
They are in perpetuity.

It’s always been this way,
Toiling for nothing,
An honest day’s
Work unrecognized,
A treadmill they can’t
Avoid or escape.