Of the many
Choices available
To them, they revere
The ones that will
Cause unthinkable
Devastation to an
Unfathomable number of
Vulnerable people,
Just one of the
Benefits of never having
To think about anyone
But yourself.
He fancies himself
Superior,
The smug emperor
Standing on the
Heads of his subjects,
Declaring that
They’re far better
Off with the
Prospect of
Illness and
Ruination.
Brutalized by someone
They trusted,
Living adult lives of
Overt fear and anger,
Lashing out at
Imagined adversaries,
Pretending to be strong,
Whimpering inside,
Devotedly following the
First tyrant that
Comes their way.
Trying to find some
Semblance of feeling
Behind those lifeless eyes,
But there isn’t any,
Extinguished by some
Authority figure who
Taught him that
The world is a
Very hard place and
That he should
Be harder.
They hope you won’t
Notice everything
They’re taking away,
How they’re obliterating
Compassion and decency,
Leaving behind a charred
Dystopia with a few obscenely
Affluent creatures reveling in
Manicured enclaves
Surrounded by monstrous gates.
They went out today,
A now-infrequent splurge,
Can’t do it as much
Anymore, prices have
Gone up by at least
fifty percent, what
Used to be absorbable
Is now much more draining,
A larger percentage of
Non-increasing wages
Taking away from necessities
While the powers that be
Dine without worries.
It doesn’t really
Matter to them
What they say or do
As long as it forces
The desired result,
Kindness and compassion
Are not even part of
The deliberative process,
Only calculations to
Grab and retain power.
An old man sits
On a bench reading
His usual newspaper,
The one that still
Somewhat reports on
Reality. He’s seen
All of this before,
The hubris, zealotry,
Heartlessness. It
Didn’t end well then,
He hopes it doesn’t
Go that far this time.
They take care
Of their own,
And only their own.
They’ll do anything
To protect
Their power.
Destroy people, a nation,
No problem,
Pain personified.
