They come from
All over the
Countryside,
From small,
Forgotten villages
Bereft of opportunity,
To living under
A bridge,
Covered by a
Sheet of tin,
In the shadow of
Gleaming skyscrapers.
Duplicitous kingpins
Promise a land of
Fairness and good
Old-fashioned competition.
Reality more like
A trap for everyday
People struggling to
Not be swallowed whole.
Pervasive myth of a
Self-correcting system
That provides for
Everyone.
Affecting an appearance of
Piety while harboring
Vitriolic hatred toward
People who aren’t like him.
Many have paid the price
For his unchecked
Emotional instability and
Tormented tirades.
They couldn’t say anything
For fear of being destroyed
By a roaring avalanche
Of twitching authoritarianism.
Unstoppable rip current of
Ruthless malice, selfishness,
Eroding everything in its path.
Rapacious plunderers protecting
Coddled mega corporations
From horrible regular people
Struggling to make a living,
Pay the mortgage, as
Water pours in,
Dissolving their dreams.
Sandbags disintegrating
Against incessant onslaught,
Wall breached by marauders
Hungry to despoil the
Social contract,
Promising prosperity,
Delivering suffering.
In the break room
At the giant retailer,
They put together
A collection box
For families that
Need help over
The holidays;
Help from people
Who have no money
To people who have
Even less.
Corporate lords
Snicker in vast
Mansions as their
Employees wither,
Their pay not enough
To sustain them
And their families,
Public assistance
A necessity.
With single-minded
Zeal, they’re off
To help those less
Fortunate live better lives.
A project to bring
Relief to the remote
Village in exchange for
Eternal fealty to dogma.
A perpetuation of the
Same kind of hierarchy
That keeps them down
In the first place.
Domination by any
Word is still the
Same wretched exercise,
Selfish, self-serving.
A friendly cashier
Smiles and rings up
The customer’s items.
She responds politely
When there’s a
Slight price issue.
Only five more hours,
Plus one off the clock,
Until she can go home.
She arrives at the
Cramped apartment she shares
With two other people.
She sits at the kitchen table,
Searching online
For other prospects.
In service to
The masters,
A skewed scheme
Is introduced where
Those who can pay
Get faster service
Than those who can’t.
A divided highway
Favoring the Bentley
Over basic transportation,
A notion sprung from
Minds that have
No consideration
For equality.
A limited amount of
Everything for everyone.
A few people seize most of it,
The rest don’t.
Sharing is not a virtue
In the realm of self-interest.
Engorged with blood,
Plutocrats nap comfortably.
Things are great when you
Possess virtually everything.
Unappetizing crumbs for
Everyone else.
