poems about society

Trickle

A familiar refrain
Repeated decisively,
Peddled as truth:
Cut taxes on the rich,
The wealth will
Trickle down.

Years and years of
Following this fable
Yield nothing but the
Accumulation of vast
Fortunes by a few,
Famine for the rest.

The middle class shrinking,
The poor forgotten,
The affluent getting fatter,
Everyone else struggling
To run in place,
At the top, celebrating.

Get the Poetry Collection
Unconventional Being - Minimalist Poetry Book by Guy Farmer

Readers around the world have found pieces of themselves in these poems. Discover the collection.

Get Your Copy on Amazon

Hustlers

Covered in
Restrictive,
Antiquated,
Uncomfortable garb,
Long hair
Archaically styled,
Pioneer women without
The freedom to explore,
Idealized, submissive
Feminine appearance.
Stay close to the hearth,
With your multiple offspring,
Do as you’re told by
Your male master.
Walking anachronisms
Controlled from all angles
By abusive hustlers
Waving morality banners.

Concrete Corridor

Under a
Perpetual
Poisonous
Smog cloud,
He walks along
A filthy street,
Engulfed by
Row upon row
Of blank,
Faceless,
Forbidding
Cloned buildings
Teeming with families
Dislocated by
Unstoppable forces,
A concrete corridor
Of imposed
Existence.

Workshops

The group walks
Into the room,
Apprehensive faces,
Some bored.
They’ve learned that
These workshops are
Often a frustrating
Waste of time,
Nothing ventured,
Nothing learned.
Today, one at a time,
They look at a
Fellow co-worker,
And say something kind.

Genius Plain to See

A ruler non-pareil,
A visionary of
Exceptional brilliance,
A seer who will
Steer us into a
Brighter tomorrow,
On the wings of
Freedom and individuality.
A true prophet
Who will guide us
Through the turbulence
With unwavering valor.
His mighty plan is upon us,
His genius plain to see:
Demolish programs for the poor,
Destroy unions,
Obliterate government.

She Comes Home

She comes home
After a hard day’s work
Entering numbers into
A computer,
Staring at a cold,
Uncaring screen,
Figures passing by,
Taking moments of
Her life with them,
All to pay the bills
For those she loves.
She walks in the door,
He gives her a hug
And listens to how
Her day went.

What’s Missing

They all say
It doesn’t matter,
Nonchalance covering for
Ambiguity, confusion, fear.

In moments
Away from the crowd,
They know there is
Something else.

For now, they avoid it,
Hoping it will resolve itself,
Much easier than
Having to think about it.

Each day passes,
And with it the opportunity
To acknowledge
What’s missing.

An Easy Way to Destroy Democracy

An easy way
To destroy democracy:
Pretend that all
Points of view are
Equivalent,
No matter how false,
Misguided, or hurtful.
Make sure all the
Voices that want to
Build a kinder world
For everyone are
Lumped in with the ones
Seduced by fear,
Cruelty, and lust for power.
Make believe
All ideas have equal merit,
Until facts don’t matter
And we lose our sense of
The greater good.

Fall in Line

Enamored with positions of
Supposed authority,
Constantly fixated on
Self-preservation,
Uneasy, imbalanced, suspicious,
Routinely unenlightened,
Limiting growth,
Punishing change,
Loathing insight,
Enabling dysfunction,
Shunning anyone who
Doesn’t fall in line,
Ordinariness covering for itself.