A rivulet of fetid water
Winds its way through
Garbage-choked dirt alleys
Walled in by smoke-filled
Tin shacks crowded to bursting.
What remains after
Everything was sucked out
By self-important predators
Whose lust for money greatly
Exceeded all other impulses.
The whole situation
Was created by people
Who aren’t aware of
Why they think or do
Certain things and
What the effect of
Their thoughts and
Actions is.
What it must be like
To travel through life
Swinging an ax,
Unwilling, unable,
To stop when
Someone, anyone,
Everyone, is
In the way.
One fine day,
Seemingly out of
Nowhere,
He came into town and,
With a few brief
Words, reminded people
Of what was really
Important in life,
And had every single
Person running home
To make amends or
Hug a loved one,
Help someone in need,
Their better nature
Confirmed.
The stranger vanished
As mysteriously as
He had appeared,
And the people
Went back to doing
What they had
Always done.
There is no sign
That he’ll ever be
Any other way.
He’s a gentleman,
As attentive as
They come.
When he sees ladies,
He always smiles and
Opens the door for them.
He’s gracious and
Polite, complimenting
Them on their looks.
He unflinchingly believes
They’re wilting flowers
That require his help.
The fairer sex who
Need a strong man
Guiding them.
That’s what his father
Told him, and his
Father before.
It’s clear that
All that is happening
In that predatory mind
Is a miserable plan
To curry favor,
Establish dominance.
The need to be loved,
While overlooking the
Unpleasant flaws of
Reality, paramount,
Only self-adulation
Featured on the menu.
Manipulating the limbs
Of cold mannequins,
Unfeeling eyes staring
Blankly, no connection
To actuality, only
Temporary gratification.
She conflates liberty
With fear, harshness,
Selfishness, tribalism;
A martial solution to
Every perceived problem,
Freedom meted at the
End of a weapon,
Without any deliberation,
Remorse.
Perpetrators posing as victims,
Misdirected scorn.
Gird the wagons,
The sky is surely falling
Today, tomorrow, always.
He knows exactly
Where they all are,
Ready to help him
When they show up,
He’s rehearsed it
Many times in his head,
A twitching crusader
For absolute order,
Pitifully unsafe in
The midst of all
His friends, the
Ones that don’t talk
Back, that make him
Feel more potent,
Briefly worthwhile,
Some kind of cowboy.
It is said that only twenty percent
Of people are able to change an
Undesirable behavior, even when
They experience severely negative or
Life-threatening consequences, and
Eighty percent will continue doing
The same thing until it consumes them,
Unable to change, emphatically
Assuring themselves that things are
Going much better than they are.
It starts imperceptibly –
Gains momentum –
Grows stronger –
Craves ever more power –
Eradicates the arts and intellectuals –
Mocks knowledge and reason –
Clouds the truth –
Creates chaos and disarray –
Imposes order by force –
Subjugates its own people –
Destroys its enemies –
Subverts democracy –
Stops at nothing.
She’s been unemployed
For two years
Since being laid off
From her long-time job.
On the news,
They keep crowing
About how much better
Things are.
She walks in the door
Of a temp agency
Where she’s greeted
Politely.
A young woman
Asks her to have a seat
At a long table and
Fill out an application.
When she’s done,
She’s told to wait for an
Additional screening
By another staff member.
She goes into a small
Room to take a variety
Of tests to determine
What she can do.
She’s told to call
Early each morning
To check for any jobs
That may be available.