poems about the human condition

Dangerous Place

Looking through the window
He sees only war, perceiving
Everything as a battle,
As something to be won,
An adversary to be exterminated.

“When something bad is
Lurking around every corner,
Ready to attack you,
You have to hit first,”
He mutters automatically.

The world viewed as a dangerous place,
Where everyone is an enemy
Who must be engaged with violence,
Internal turmoil played out in public,
Only one direction to go in.

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Words Never Said

The words never said,
Situation unacknowledged,
Validation absent,
A continuing cycle of
Missed opportunities and
Absurd stubbornness,
An all-consuming need
To feel important.

So Many Years Wasted

In that brief moment
He recognized that
Things hadn’t been as he thought.

People just behave the way
They always have,
With little or no forethought.

All this time spent worrying
It was about him when it really was
People just being themselves.

A sense of relief followed by loss,
So many years wasted,
Many to be enjoyed.

New Vistas

He hopes to himself
That he can one day
Transcend this drab world
Of daily gatherings at the
Same old bar with
The same friends talking
About the same exploits
From high school,
Angry at never having
Left this town to enjoy
New vistas,
Closing hearts and minds
Railing against
Anyone who doesn’t
Share their misery.

Our History

It’s a symbol of
Our history which,
Although we don’t
Say it out loud,
Is really based on
Fighting for the right
To enslave human beings
To make more money,
A fair arrangement,
In our dead hearts.

Familiar Path

And so we find ourselves
Where we’ve always been,
Ignoring sincere pleas
For peace and love and
Hurtling instead toward
Facile vengeance,
The familiar path to
Collective misery,
Huddled in enclaves
Terrified of others,
Darkness strangling the light.
Don’t give up on the dream,
Remember that we’re
Capable of much better
Than out-of-control
Fear and hatred,
There’s another path and
We’re the ones to walk it.

She Changes It

She changes it,
Doubting herself and
Her abilities yet again.

She changes it again,
Realizing how wonderful
Her talents are.

Continuous fluctuation
Between incertitude and
Recognition, celebration.

Pernicious Myth

A pernicious myth
That those who accumulate
A vast amount of wealth
Are somehow better
Than everyone else:
Wiser, more industrious,
Gifted in some way,
When what’s really going on
Is that they were
In the right place
At the right time.
Countless others toil
Just as hard,
If not more,
For far less,
There but for chance.

Learned Well

She’s never known
Anything but the
Opulent wealth amassed
Through the bilking of
Thousands who only
Wanted an opportunity
And met the wrong people
When they were most
Vulnerable.
To cover up for the
Family’s wrongdoings,
She sanctimoniously
Pretends to care about
The less fortunate
While taking away
Everything they’ve got.
She learned well.