This part of town
Isn’t the same as
It used to be,
Gradually life has
Supplanted decay,
Introducing a new
Vibrancy and energy
Where once only
Shadows existed,
Though one can’t help
Wonder what happened
To the people who
Used to live around here.
It was only
When it happened
To her that she
Realized what
Other people had
Been going through
While she and her
Friends were
Putting them down.
Incongruously,
An ad appears
On the TV screen
Extolling the
Virtues of the
Ruthless
Industrialists’
Many companies
And how they’re
Woven into the
Very fabric of
Our lives.
A transparent
Attempt at
Whitewashing
Their dark
Legacy just before
They’re exposed
For who they
Really are
And how much
Suffering they’re
Responsible for.
Preemptive
Damage control
Varnishing their
Sordid acts.
A familiar refrain
Repeated decisively,
Peddled as truth:
Cut taxes on the rich,
The wealth will
Trickle down.
Years and years of
Following this fable
Yield nothing but the
Accumulation of vast
Fortunes by a few,
Famine for the rest.
The middle class shrinking,
The poor forgotten,
The affluent getting fatter,
Everyone else struggling
To run in place,
At the top, celebrating.
Her actions negatively
Impacted them but
When they politely
Brought it up to her,
She took offense and
Blamed them,
Unable to admit fault
Or take responsibility
For her own behavior,
Leaving it unresolved,
As with much else
In her life.
He’s spent most
Of his life wishing
For a time when
Everything would be
Different, a reprieve
From mundanity, failure,
A mostly tepid existence
Tinged in grey.
Today is the day it all
Changes, unless he has
Anything to say about it.
A full-time
Warehouse worker,
Unable to pay
Some outstanding
Parking tickets,
Finds himself in
A jail cell,
The full force of the
Judicial system
Against him.
An investment banker
Devises a scheme
That destroys
Countless lives,
Extinguishes untold dreams,
Bankrupts the country,
Enjoys a cool drink
By his pool,
Immunity in
Full force.
He talks eloquently,
Movingly about
Things like
Equality,
Kindness,
Peace,
Hope,
Compassion.
He’s often met with
The same depressing,
Dismissive looks
And comments
Denigrating his
Optimism and
Replacing it
With hopelessness.
Entire spheres
Populated by
Dull
Bullies
Overpowering
Any positive impulse,
Creating a harder,
Meaner world.
Light waning
Over the water,
Small waves quietly
Washing over pebbles,
Screaming at the
Injustice,
The trees listen.
