It’s a frigid day
In Antarctica and
In the hearts of
Five pompous penguins appointed
To make lofty decisions.
Deferring to a small group
Of the fattest birds,
They cackle self-righteously
While funneling sustenance
To the select few.
Their benefactors
Squawk knowingly and
Slip them a few extra fish
While multitudes
Starve on the shore.
So easy to discard,
An afterthought
Requiring no careful
Consideration.
Reduce worth,
Render insignificant,
Nothing but a haplessly
Toiling number.
Remove any vestiges of
Humanity,
Disconnect,
Abandon.
Where are your papers?
Show me your identification.
Crooked smiles betray
Inner brokenness.
Limit the rights of others,
Satisfy thirst for control,
Demean – marginalize – subdue.
Imposition of capricious rules,
Ostensibly to keep the order,
De facto keeping people down.
Nothing but complete subservience
Will do for reactionaries
Who have never known anything
But abusing power.
Perverting everything
To support a brutally
Selfish worldview,
Welfare for the rich,
Cast everyone else aside.
Nothing hinders
The inexorable march
For power and spoils,
The hoarding of putrid symbols
Of external satisfaction.
Unaware, uninformed,
A passive populace observes
The overt assault,
Predators circling
Another helpless wretch.
Ruthlessly punishing
Human beings who advocate for
Justice and fairness.
Siding with
Ghoulish defenders of
A toxic status quo.
Fearing a takeover
By people who care about
The common good.
Problems are unsolvable
If one can’t envision people
Working together to find a solution.
Kindness is impossible if one
Can’t fathom a world where
People are kind to one another.
Compassion is fantasy if one
Can’t care for oneself or feel
The suffering of others.
He’s very self-satisfied
About asking disingenuous
Questions designed to
Deflect from the issue at hand,
Spewing fallacious reasoning
Intended to denigrate sincere people
Rather than addressing
What they’re advocating for,
A posture born of insecurity,
Privilege, and a need to dominate
Rather than listen to others’ plight,
Cavalierly dismissing issues,
As long as they don’t affect him.
It was clear from the very beginning
That something wasn’t quite right;
An insincere smile, a stare that
Lasted uncomfortably long.
Inevitably, inexorably, the tone changes.
Talons emerge, words more savage.
Spitting, hissing, leering, the battle for
Dominance commences.
Overconfidence brings its sister
Insecurity to the party. Unable to
Subdue the unease, they proceed to
Spread their discord.
Though they’ll never
Admit it,
Cowardice hiding
Behind secrecy,
They don’t like him
Because he’s not like them,
He’s different,
Other, foreign.
They can’t fathom how someone
Historically subservient,
Though they won’t
Say it in public,
Can hold a position of
Authority above them.
Fetid waves of
Hysterical fear,
Weakness, prejudice,
Fuming at perceived
Loss of power,
A deeper impulse
Emanating from
Foul precedent.
