poems about power

Dog-Eat-Dog

It’s been this way
For so long that they
Don’t even think twice
About what happens to
The people they
Offhandedly discard.

Try to talk to them
About fairness or
Compassion, they’ll
Proclaim it’s a dog-eat-dog
World and you have to
Fight for what’s yours.

A profane melee over
Material wealth and
Superficial status,
Someone always loses –
Left in ruin while
Nobody sheds a tear.

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Cashier

A friendly cashier
Smiles and rings up
The customer’s items.

She responds politely
When there’s a
Slight price issue.

Only five more hours,
Plus one off the clock,
Until she can go home.

She arrives at the
Cramped apartment she shares
With two other people.

She sits at the kitchen table,
Searching online
For other prospects.

Consideration

In service to
The masters,
A skewed scheme
Is introduced where
Those who can pay
Get faster service
Than those who can’t.

A divided highway
Favoring the Bentley
Over basic transportation,
A notion sprung from
Minds that have
No consideration
For equality.

Concocted

He’s concocted a story about
Being passed up for
A promotion due to some kind of
Supposedly unfair quota.
Diseased ego deflated —
Hurt feelings —
Perceived loss of face.
Rather than bounce back,
He takes it as a personal slight and
Mounts an ever-growing campaign of
Vitriolic vituperations and
Dramatic diatribes against his
Alleged oppressor,
Ignorant privilege flailing.
He affirms that he’ll never stop
Taking action against the
Nefarious system that bestowed
The spoils upon someone else.

The Next Insult

Given the opportunity to
Change the course of world history,
He takes small caterpillar bites,
Leaving hole-riddled leaves
Unable to sustain themselves or
The tree they live on.
One small taste provokes another.
A vulnerable organism succumbs,
Rapacious parasite feasting on
Weakened frame.
He stands satisfied,
Planning the next insult.

Momentous Decisions

They make momentous decisions
Overwhelmingly based on
What benefits them
At any given moment,
Not what might help the many,
Impulsive determinations,
Carelessly executed
To quiet whatever
Discomfort they’re feeling
And refuse to address in a
Healthy manner.

He’s Got It

Even thought he’ll
Never publicly admit it,
He’s really on a crusade
To impose his point of view
On unsuspecting others.
Insightful people have told him
He’s dogmatic and inflexible,
But he just looks at it
As being steadfast
In the face of too much
Whining from too many milquetoasts
Who don’t know right from wrong.
He grew up on a frontier of sorts,
Where you knew who the good guys were
And what color hats they wore.
He’ll never concede that
His cherished belief system doesn’t
Lend itself to nuance,
Or rely on evidence or fact,
You either get it or don’t,
He knows he’s got it,
No matter what anyone says.

Allegiance

Coarse mob
Defiantly protesting
A government that
Provides for that right.
Misdirected anger,
Misplaced allegiance to
Abstract concepts
Rooted in fear – mistrust,
Generational wounds.
Unchecked rugged individualism,
Freedom to antagonize –
Contorted civil disobedience,
Clutching discredited ideas
Perpetuating imparity.

Hinder

Insidious double-talk,
Confuse the rubes,
Tell them one thing,
Deliver another.

Mal-intentioned misdirection,
Disseminate falsehoods,
Chuckle heartily when
They fall for it.

Take advantage of access to
Information and power,
Surreptitiously shift
The conversation.

Continually erode
Vital pillars,
Remorselessly hinder
Progress.