Minimalist Free Verse Poems about the Human Condition

Same Place - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Same Place

No words exchanged
Where normally there
Would be many.

An empty space,
A house razed,
Missing.

This is the same
Place where they
Laughed together.

Imbalance - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Imbalance

Sitting around
Talking about nothing
In particular,
They notice that
They’re physically
Stronger than them;
That they can impose
Their will through
Force rather than
Negotiation or
Compromise.
They get to work
Creating the edifices
Of submission and
Control; shameless
Institutions designed
To maintain the
Imbalance of power.

Improprieties - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Improprieties

Multi-tentacled monster,
Insatiable appetite for
Culpatory knowledge.
Pursue with great vigor,
Upend life,
Intimidate with threats of
Dire consequences,
Frame as a renegade
Divulger of secrets,
A craven menace.
Nothing stops the
Gurgling heart of
Fear-riddled sickness
Zealously guarding
Improprieties.

Sublimation - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Sublimation

Her blank, lifeless eyes
Betray a dearth of feeling,
Loss of innocence,
Humanity torn from heart.

She follows whatever they say
With a confidence that only
Comes from the total
Sublimation of self.

Inside her, a muffled voice
Reminds that there
Always is another path,
Courageous, resplendent.

Currents - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Currents

Dreams eclipsed,
Traditional currents
Scrubbing everything a
Pale shade of average.
Arms resting on the
Windowsill, she sees
Far-away places where
Birds fly freely.

Part of It - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Part of It

The room was
Buzzing with energy,
People smiling and
Laughing, sharing
Anecdotes, exchanging
Business cards,
Having a cocktail or two.
He stood in the
Middle of the action,
Pretending to be
Part of it.

Protecting - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Protecting

Entrusted with the
Power of the pen,
He routinely, passionately
Persecutes the poor and
Disenfranchised, focusing
With white-hot, laser-like
Intensity on the innate
Shortcomings of the indigent,
Emphatically insisting that
These things must be pointed out;
A sentinel of truth and justice
Conveniently overlooking the
Trespasses of the group
He identifies with,
Protecting the perpetrators.

So Perfect - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

So Perfect

Ugly self-righteousness,
The arrogance of alleging
He knows more than anyone
Else and is so perfect that
He has the right to impose
His beliefs and values on
Everyone else because,
After all, nobody’s opinion
Matters more than his own.
He smiles smugly,
A shining example of a
Mind deluded by its own
Inner instability.

Leaving the Darkness - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Leaving the Darkness

She endured
So many years
Isolated from
Others, living
An anonymous life
Where no one knew
About her loves,
Her joys, her talents,
Her aspirations.

A single trip to
A distant city
Opens her eyes,
Her heart,
Her ambition to
Live, love, thrive
Out in the light,
Leaving the darkness
Far behind.

Some Connection - Exploring Brokenness: Poetry on Pain, Anger, and Human Flaws

Some Connection

At some point it
Becomes an exercise in
Trying not to become jaded,
To avoid thinking that she’s
Seen it all or knows what’s
Happening before she
Takes it in, moving gingerly
To maintain her humanity,
Some connection to what
Really means something.

Poetry by Guy Farmer