Holding his father’s hand,
He wonders how long it’s
Been since they left home
And how much longer they
Would have to walk through
This arid wasteland, so
Far away from everything.
The water-stained
Asbestos ceiling tiles
Tell a tale of a
Community left behind,
Children who
Don’t matter,
A future denied.
Mark sees his wages
Staying the same
Year after year while
Prices for everything
Go up. He feels like
No one is listening
To him, like no one
Cares at all for
People like him.
Pressure building inside,
Seething dissatisfaction,
He follows the first
Person who assures him
Everything will be okay,
The very same character
Who will see to it that
Mark keeps suffering.
He’s reading from the
Manual on how to destroy
A democracy and realizes
That all he really has
To do is manipulate the
Part of the population
That lives in fear,
Hates ambiguity, and
Craves an imposing
Father figure promising
Safety and order while
Eradicating equality.
Intimidate,
Escalate,
Retaliate.
The tools of
The insecure
Tyrant.
Forcing
His hurt
Into others.
They see him as
Different,
Not like them,
Foreign.
They treat him
With savage disdain,
Contempt oozing from
Narrowed eyes.
Nothing off limits,
The only goal is
The annihilation of
The intruder.
Subsisting in the remains of
A town built by a
Company that left everyone
Stranded once the resources
Had been recklessly
Exploited, depleted.
A child and its mother
Walk past boarded-up
Windows on their way to
The hall where she,
Her family, friends, neighbors,
Will continue to fight for
This way of life.
They’ve been able
To do whatever they want,
For so long,
With no accountability,
Complete impunity,
That they bristle indignantly
When challenged in any way,
The arrogance of
Unearned authority.
When asked what kind of
World we can build
For our workers, he answers
That we have a fundamental
Choice as to whether we
View employees as expendable
Nuisances that are only worth
Abusing and excluding from
The company’s success, or
Creating a climate where those
Who toil have the opportunity
To reap the rewards of their
Labor rather than handing it
To a few at the top,
A real sharing economy.
