A dismal death cult
Unmoved by evidence,
Driven by self-hate and
Fear of the other,
Supporting oppression to
Maintain their hold on power.
Nothing grows in
This barren environment,
Only devastation.
If only I could
Reassure them that
They will be okay,
That they don’t have to
Be scared of everything,
That no one is going to
Come and hurt them,
But I can’t,
Only they can
Deliver that message.
She comes home
From school sobbing
And tells us that
Someone called her
A horrible name and
Everyone laughed
And pointed at her.
We hold her and
Comfort her as
Much as we can,
Memories of the
Same scenario
Roiling in our minds.
In order to hide
Who they really are
Deep inside, when
Outsiders aren’t around
To listen, everyone
Huddled around sharing
Hearty chuckles about
Some city-slicker or
Other person who
Is not like them,
They perpetuate stale
Myths about how they’re
The salt of the earth,
Misunderstood real folks,
Telling it how it is,
A worn ruse used to shift
The attention away from
What’s really going on.
In a city far away,
Countless mothers and fathers
Care for their children
And hope for love and
Warmth for all human beings
Wherever they may be.
I bend and bend
Until I’m almost
Broken, it won’t
Take much more to
Empty me of any
Hope I have left
That anyone cares
For someone
Like me.
People who don’t
Believe in
Helping people,
Put in charge of programs
That are supposed
To help people.
Sometime in the early 2000s
Corporations get the memo
That they can do whatever
They want: reduce the size of
Products and charge more for them,
Make everything cheaper so
It will break sooner,
Provide less and worse service,
Consolidate into monopolies,
Price exorbitantly,
Cater only to shareholders,
And nobody will do anything
About it, a methodical bleeding of
A shrinking middle class and
Growing swathes of
Human beings in poverty,
A new accepted cruelty.
He’ll never
Say it out loud,
At least not to
Anyone but his closest
Friends and family
Members who agree
With him, but he
Misses the days when
People knew their place,
And he was at the
Top of the heap,
And nobody
Questioned it.
I saw a person today wearing
A T-shirt defending the
Civil Rights Movement and
I was deeply grateful that
There are people of conscience
Who are willing to stand in
Solidarity against hatred
And bigotry. History has
Shown us far too often
What happens when people
Don’t speak up.
