He claims to love.
When faced with
Crucial opportunities
To demonstrate it,
He chooses his default
Position, the one that
Requires no thought
Or effort, the only
Strategy he knows.
So many occasions to
Show his concern,
It’s in there,
Smothered by fear.
He puffs out his chest
Indignantly,
Doubles down on
Cowardice.
The retail behemoth’s
Owners scream bloody murder
When it is suggested that
Employees be compensated
Enough to provide meager
Food and shelter for
Their struggling families;
Never mind that any
Pay increase would
Barely dent the vast profits
They suck in every day.
No use paying their
Workers more when they
Can use that money to
Pay off a politician,
Then add a few extra rooms
Onto their fifth giant home.
Having been bullied
And demeaned by them
His whole life,
He takes his inner
Rage and directs it
Not at the people
Who’ve maltreated him
But rather at those
Who have always
Defended him,
Understood his plight,
Shared his experience.
Seeking approval
From cold conquerors,
Devotedly advocating for
And perpetuating the
Order that always
Has and will continue to
Keep him marginalized.
Not long after
His fortieth birthday,
Robert gets an
E-mail to talk to his
Supervisor where he
Unceremoniously finds out
He no longer has a job.
It is at this moment
That his vehement
Railing against unions,
Tenure, worker’s rights,
Comes into acute focus.
He gathers his things
And walks outside.
Fight like your
Life depends on it.
Shout until your
Throat is raw.
Spread the truth
Until it’s unavoidable.
Make kindness and
Compassion the norm.
Dare to believe the
World can be better.
You are
The light.
Rabid zealots
Who quite recently
Would have been
Considered a major
Joke now run the
Institutions charged
With caring for
The entire populace.
With absolute,
Irrational conviction,
They demolish the
Pillars of
Civilized society
And leave in their
Place smoldering
Wreckage and misery.
They were once
Wealthy and exploited
Their workers with
Unmitigated gusto,
Their status and
Influence unchecked.
Then the bottom
Fell out, their
Joy ride halted
By a tidal wave
Valuing the common man
Instead of the magnate.
They complain bitterly,
Never getting over
The loss of riches
That weren’t theirs
But for the toil
Of the many.
Regardless of
Steppe or clime,
They band together
Under draconian law.
Subjugating all who
Do not conform to
An archaic, twisted
View of the world.
The suffering
Are always those who
Have no stake in
Perpetuating fear.
No longer
Putting up with
Being forced to
Live as second-class
Citizens
Bowing to
Their oppressors.
They march
In the streets
Not because
They want to
But because
They have
No other choice.
It’s clear
He doesn’t
Feel a thing
When he talks
About killing
The youth.
Compassion absent,
He mechanically
Recounts how
He wouldn’t
Change a thing,
Just another day.