Limiting
Their
Opportunities
So
The
Only
Choice
They
Have
Is
Going
To
War.
An unspoken code
Keeps them all
In line, sporting
The same clothes —
Physical appearance —
Mores —
Social rules
That keep them
Stuck in a delusion
Of normalcy based
On fearful assumptions
About almost everything.
In times of insecurity,
They coalesce into agitated
Swarms, screaming for relief,
Yearning for a big daddy to
Come along and make
Everything all right again.
As is always the case,
Someone or many someones
See the glow of opportunity
And swoop in making empty
Promises that soothe the
Raging fever of uncertainty.
Once the horde has been
Seduced, their masters rub
Their hands together with
Glee and prepare for the
Upcoming bacchanal of
Looting and pillaging.
Torrential blasts of vitriol,
Lashing out uncontrollably,
Hastily concocted plots,
Unfounded, unreal, unimaginably
Daft, void of all connection to
Reality, conspiracists weaving a
Narrative of suspicion.
After work, a family gathers
To share the evening meal,
Peripherally aware of the
Encroaching clouds,
Talking about the events of the day
The dreams of tomorrow.
A rabble gathers across the street.
Force the public schools
To atrophy so that few
Can accurately discern
The real issues that
Affect their lives.
Create a propaganda
Echo chamber where
Bigoted beliefs are pounded
Into receptive brains,
Willing followers.
Pander to base impulses,
Throbbing amygdalas
Screaming with fear,
Ready to act on
Intentional misinformation.
Blur the line between
Reality and fiction,
Fashion an alternate universe
Where incarceration is freedom,
Dictatorship safety.
They send each other
Frequent e-mails
Mocking his race
Without the least bit
Of remorse or awareness
As to how they are
Hurting a fellow
Human being.
Truth be told,
They don’t really
Consider him to fully
Be a person like them.
It’s all a game
When you’ve never been
The target of
Despicable insults,
Of demeaning epithets
Uttered by people who
Hold you in the
Deepest contempt for
No other reason
Than how you look
And how powerless
They feel inside.
They just
Don’t get it,
What it’s like
To be demeaned
And belittled
For nothing else
Than the color of
Your skin,
The feeling of
Hateful eyes
Sizing you up
When you go
Where you’re not
Supposed to,
The contempt you’re
Confronted with
When you speak up
In any way,
The stinging pain
Of being
Looked down upon
Day after day.
A smattering of people
Gather someplace
To raise funds for
Someone’s illness.
No health insurance,
He’s always been a huge
Opponent of any type of
Public medical care.
Keep the government
Out of my business,
Don’t waste
My tax money.
Six hundred and
thirty-nine dollars
Are raised to pay
The bills.
A jabbering group of
Immaculately appointed
Tourists steps off
The luxury coach that’s
Carted them through
The objectionable parts
Of the city to the
Retail village built
For just this purpose,
Where unsmiling locals
Wearing fake costumes
Peddle inauthentic wares
To the delight of visitors
Who couldn’t care less
About their plight,
How phony this all is,
As they steal another
Soul through their cameras.
