Coercive,
Toxic,
Unaware.
Gnarled hands
Grabbing onto
Anything that lets them.
Sinking into
Authoritarian ooze;
Here’s what we expect.
Break away;
The broken don’t
Want you whole.
Pander to fears and prejudices,
Devise a hated enemy to
Satiate the wrath of the mob,
Incite to violence.
Us versus them,
Someone else not quite as
Human as we are,
Different in some way.
Trash any impulse to
Collaborate with others,
Label them some horrible thing,
Untrue, unjustified, unhinged.
Fragmentation weakening foundations,
Eroding commonalities,
An opportunistic savior
Capitalizes on division.
Do this,
Do that,
It has to be done
This way,
That way,
The way I say,
How it’s always been
Or has randomly developed
Through years of people
Scrambling to hang on to
Power and prestige
At the expense of
Everything else,
Rules smothering
Passion, creativity, life.
No thank you.
Flustered,
Bewildered,
Off-balance.
They seek
Comfort and solace
From the strongman
Promising to
Return them to the
Safety they never
Really felt in the
First place and
Upon which the
Bellwethers rely.
During their house hunt,
His wife marvels at the
Modern kitchens and gushes
About everything she will
Be able to do and how much
Easier it will be.
He stands mute,
Staring at his shoes,
Hoping nothing breaks
The spell that keeps her
Serving his every need.
It’s clear that they
Are unable to understand
What it’s like to be
Systematically put down,
To have your choices limited,
Your very humanity challenged
Because of the color of your skin,
The fear that courses
Through your veins when you
Feel the disdain they
Have for you because they’re
Unwilling to give up what
They’re accustomed to and
Have gained at your expense.
The washer and dryer
Sit unused since
Her death;
He says she really
Did a great job
With them.
He doesn’t use them,
Not because he doesn’t
Know how to, but because
He thinks it’s a chore
Better left to
Someone else.
Culture of violence:
Shots ring out with no one
Courageous enough to
Do something about it,
Even when children die.
Culture of violence:
Women systematically
Put down, controlled,
Pumping out babies for
Some dominant reactionary.
Culture of violence:
Children hit for not
Following draconian,
Arbitrary rules imposed
By broken parents.
Culture of violence:
Innocent people killed
For nothing else than
The color of their skin
And someone’s insecurity.
Culture of violence:
Marginalizing and ostracizing
Human beings who don’t
Look or sound like
The herd.
Culture of violence:
Having their rights denied
Because of whom they love,
Being made to feel
Less than others.
Culture of violence:
People in power shaping
The rules to benefit
Only them, relegating
Others to deprivation.
Culture of violence:
Permanent war ripping
Apart bodies, psyches,
Families, the fabric
Of civilized society.
Culture of violence:
Shaping discourse to fit
A narrative of hate
And fear instead of
Hope, kindness, peace.
It’s been too long
Since Dad had a job
Though he dutifully looks
For one; Mom hasn’t had
Any luck either.
They make enough money
To fall behind, at
So-called entry level
Jobs for teens
That are actually
The only source of income
For large segments of
The population, honest
Hard-working people who
Were not born into the
Right family or happened
To be at the right place
At the right time or
Were willing to profit
At the expense of others.
