poems about power

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A small child dreams of the day
She’ll have a home of her own;
A room without others in it;
Food to calm her hunger for
More than a few hours; a
School to attend for at least
A month; friends she can
Play with for a long while.

Experience clouding her face.
Etched by one heartbreak after another.
In an imposing, cavernous enclosure,
A stolid old man stands up;
Condemns her kind;
Retires to an opulent office,
Lunch, home.

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Pity the Executives

Pity the executives,
So many problems all at once,
Horrible hiring woes,
We can’t find trained people,
Can’t hire anyone else,
Won’t cut into record profits.
Sluggish economy lurches unsteadily,
Gilded few sip champagne
On the Riviera,
Let a few more employees go,
Gather all the chips
With sleazy smiles.
Reeking piles of money fondled
In open defiance of
Working stiffs,
Keep that back limber,
No health care for you
Part-timer,
A country going under
Plutocratic thumbs.

Chance

Attach the label,
Accusatory scarlet letter,
Moral failing, character flaw,
Stamp of inadequacy.

Point a crooked finger,
Their fault, they’re lazy,
Not enterprising and
Hard-working like us.

Gilded mantle of
Success and civilization,
Gentility personified,
There but for chance.

Loudmouth

Another unreconstructed loudmouth
Spewing venomous vituperations.
Eyes glazed, mouth frothing,
Mind strangled with rancor.

They pretend to look away,
Another inconvenient car wreck
To ignore, metastasizing,
Contempt the agenda.

Condemn

Every imaginable
Foible flawlessly
Executed with supreme
Cockiness, unbridled ego,
Shocking lack of insight,
Appalling hubris.
Condemn millions to
Substandard,
Painful lives.
Sleep like a baby,
In luxury,
Every single night.
Pang of conscience?
Start a bogus
Charity event.

Aspirations

Desperately
Trying to fit in,
Appeasing their
Oppressors.
Young women
Parading around in
Outlandish, tacky
Versions of the
Garb of their
Conquerors.
Spirit broken
Generationally,
A sham display of
Civic pride,
Gaudy cartoon,
Misguided
Aspirations.

Destroying

Keep them out.
Our nation isn’t what
It used to be.
Didn’t have to
Mingle with
Unfamiliar people.
Look, talk, believe the same.
Diversity what?
Didn’t have to
Bother with complex
Issues like indigence,
Unfairness, compassion,
Sharing resources.
One planet, no borders what?
Keep that dishwasher out.
Destroying the
Very fabric of our
Toxic society.

All I Need

What if there were more than
One way to look at things?
What if you could have different
Points of view all adding their own
Unique essence to the mix, making
Things tastier rather than bland?
No thanks! Why would I ever want
To live more piquantly when I have
All I need, safely circumscribed?

Certitude

Just moved to
A new community
Dramatically different from
The one we knew.
Welcomed with open arms,
Invited into people’s homes,
Warm hospitality,
Friendly conversations.
Within a few weeks,
Grew uncomfortable,
Didn’t agree with
Certain people’s lifestyle.
Too different,
Too big city,
Too lenient,
Let our feelings
Be known.
Ostracized for
Standing up for what we
Believe in,
Our values,
Our inflexible certitude.