poems about power

Carefully Cultivated

A mob of privileged
Brutes gleefully singing
About never letting
Some (expletive) into
Their clique.

Not an isolated incident,
Yet another typical
Example of the seething
Contempt one group has
For another.

These things don’t appear
Out of nowhere,
Carefully cultivated,
Encouraged by
Role models.

Upstanding citizens in
Places of power
Perpetuating hatred
And division without
The slightest remorse.

Get the Poetry Collection
Unconventional Being - Minimalist Poetry Book by Guy Farmer

Readers around the world have found pieces of themselves in these poems. Discover the collection.

Get Your Copy on Amazon

Raging Fever

In times of insecurity,
They coalesce into agitated
Swarms, screaming for relief,
Yearning for a big daddy to
Come along and make
Everything all right again.

As is always the case,
Someone or many someones
See the glow of opportunity
And swoop in making empty
Promises that soothe the
Raging fever of uncertainty.

Once the horde has been
Seduced, their masters rub
Their hands together with
Glee and prepare for the
Upcoming bacchanal of
Looting and pillaging.

Narrative

Torrential blasts of vitriol,
Lashing out uncontrollably,
Hastily concocted plots,
Unfounded, unreal, unimaginably
Daft, void of all connection to
Reality, conspiracists weaving a
Narrative of suspicion.

After work, a family gathers
To share the evening meal,
Peripherally aware of the
Encroaching clouds,
Talking about the events of the day
The dreams of tomorrow.
A rabble gathers across the street.

Atrophy

Force the public schools
To atrophy so that few
Can accurately discern
The real issues that
Affect their lives.

Create a propaganda
Echo chamber where
Bigoted beliefs are pounded
Into receptive brains,
Willing followers.

Pander to base impulses,
Throbbing amygdalas
Screaming with fear,
Ready to act on
Intentional misinformation.

Blur the line between
Reality and fiction,
Fashion an alternate universe
Where incarceration is freedom,
Dictatorship safety.

Forgive or Forget

Somewhere in the
Recesses of his mind,
He still holds onto
Sour memories of being
Betrayed by a parent
Who he had formerly
Held in high esteem.
Thus started the vortex
That consumed his innocence
And drowned his optimism,
Coloring all his
Unhinged decisions,
Ruthlessly damaging untold
Numbers of helpless people
Just because he can’t
Forgive or forget.

No Other Reason

They send each other
Frequent e-mails
Mocking his race
Without the least bit
Of remorse or awareness
As to how they are
Hurting a fellow
Human being.
Truth be told,
They don’t really
Consider him to fully
Be a person like them.
It’s all a game
When you’ve never been
The target of
Despicable insults,
Of demeaning epithets
Uttered by people who
Hold you in the
Deepest contempt for
No other reason
Than how you look
And how powerless
They feel inside.

Bills

A smattering of people
Gather someplace
To raise funds for
Someone’s illness.

No health insurance,
He’s always been a huge
Opponent of any type of
Public medical care.

Keep the government
Out of my business,
Don’t waste
My tax money.

Six hundred and
thirty-nine dollars
Are raised to pay
The bills.

Certain

They screech about
Government overreach
When it exposes their
Brazen malfeasance.

Everything’s fine
As long as you leave them
Alone to revel in their
Degenerate practices.

Targeting and subjecting
Certain people to
Routine abuse and
Disenfranchisement.

Bullies working out
Their inner turmoil
On the defenseless,
Just another day.

Care Less

A jabbering group of
Immaculately appointed
Tourists steps off
The luxury coach that’s
Carted them through
The objectionable parts
Of the city to the
Retail village built
For just this purpose,
Where unsmiling locals
Wearing fake costumes
Peddle inauthentic wares
To the delight of visitors
Who couldn’t care less
About their plight,
How phony this all is,
As they steal another
Soul through their cameras.