She’s so busy issuing
Insipid proclamations
About her own perception
Of the world that she
Neglects the limping
Casualties of her
Discomforting sunniness.
Everything is so wonderful
And organized in her eyes,
It couldn’t be any other way,
She can’t survive a day
Without imposing her
Unnecessary, unsolicited
Imprimatur of suitability.
Sneaking in with more than
A little help from his cronies,
He proceeds to destroy
Everything in sight,
Glorifying stupidity,
Exalting anti-intellectualism,
Wrecking the most basic
Of institutions, replacing them
With phony facades,
Watching with glee as the
Lemmings jump off the cliff,
Retiring to enjoy a
Lavish lifestyle funded by
The blood of many locked away in
Offshore bank accounts,
Not a care in the world.
It doesn’t have to
Be this way.
Companies can make
A lot of money and
Pay their employees well.
CEOs can pay themselves
Slightly less,
Build one less mansion,
So that their workers
Can buy a car,
Afford a mortgage,
Send their kids
To college,
Take a vacation,
Set some money aside,
Enjoy life.
Inequality doesn’t
Have to be the norm
Unless those at the top
Want it to be.
He looks out the window
At the street where his
Children played happily,
Where every house was
Tended to, where neighbors
Said hi to each other and
Talked about work down at
The plant, their dreams
For their kids, their
Upcoming family vacation,
Their steps up the ladder.
All gone now, replaced by
Derelict shells the
City will eventually
Tear down, lifeless
Shells where once regular
People enjoyed life
And planned their futures.
Raging against government,
The parts they don’t agree with,
The measures that help people or
Limit the ability of would-be
Tyrants to trample on others.
Hoisting the flag of the nation
They don’t believe in,
Systematically undermining
All semblance of society
In the name of freedom.
Concocting a government
In their own image:
Brutal, callous,
Selfish, self-serving,
Basic decency absent.
After arduous talks,
An agreement is reached
That attempts to
Decrease the likelihood
Of violent cataclysm.
The same vociferous group
Predictably rants about
How everyone is now
More vulnerable
To future attacks.
Diplomacy complicated
By reactionaries obsessed
With punishment and who
See no other options
Other than war.
Adolescently clever plan
Concocted by anxious minds
Jostling for position.
Fragile egos contrive
A storyline whereby
Half the population
Huddles at the mercy of
Self-appointed masters,
Insecure autocrats with
Weak self-esteem
Dominating others to
Feel better about themselves.
The broken leading the
Unfortunate, artificial
Power differentials,
Brutally imposed order.
It’s funny
How
The way
You look
Determines
How
People
Treat you,
Even
When
You can’t
Change
It.
Sitting in the park,
He watches her climb
On a rock, the way she
Looks over to make sure
He’s watching, a flitting
Bird enjoying a sunny
Afternoon, he nods his
Approval, mind straying
To the many times he heard
The gavel come down
Informing him that he
Was not fit to care for her,
The same thing that had
Happened with her mother,
The specter of foster care
Looming over the scene,
Ready to take her into
It’s impersonal arms and
Away from everything
She knows, now but a memory
That never quite goes away.
