Unbalanced
Nature was always a friend
rewarding us
with good hunting,
good gathering,
good crops,
clement weather.
Nature was always an enemy
punishing us
with poor hunting,
poor gathering,
poor crops,
inclement weather.
Then our species changed
and we began to remove
the force of Nature
as much as possible
from our experience.
Yet Nature still has power,
resents our ceaseless assault
on everything that lives,
punishes us with drastic storms,
for our destructive ways.
Insanity Extended
Violence spreads across the land
and we accept as normal
outrageous crimes,
rampages, date rape,
cyber bullying, knockout,
twisted acts that did not exist
a generation ago,
yet we passively accept
increasing threats
to public stability
with minimal protest.
Expansion
Bridges were built
to cross
what couldn’t be walked across,
a gap in the earth
a body of water,
any impediment
to traffic,
from the paleolithic
log of convenience
to dazzling structures
spanning great distance,
the clever contrivances
of industrious engineers
to hurry us along.
Beyond Reason
So many generations
have mourned the past
remembering better days
in imagination,
with much suffering
along the way
of a dominant species
that used great minds
to fly to the moon,
but doesn’t understand
the workings of the mind
and terrible crimes,
pathological evil
is beyond comprehension.
Who can make sense
of a boy killing a girl
because she won’t go on a date?
Who can conceive
that a mother
will torture her child?
Somehow we’ve been conditioned
to accept mass destruction
and with time we treat it
like any dreadful event.
But it is beyond reason
that a boy twisted by early abuse,
bullied by brutes,
unable to communicate
incredible anguish
that drives him to horrible acts,
goes to his school
shoots, stabs his classmates,
destroying lives,
not expecting death
to visit so abruptly,
survivors stunned,
briefly distressed
but somehow continue,
as if the unthinkable
never occurred.
Arrivals
Winter is over
the spring migration
of well-fed tourists
with digital cameras poised
not to miss anything,
the chirp of a bird
the scent of hyacinth,
not noticed,
only landmarks, selfies,
distract the foreigners
from shopping.
Tendencies
First factories went abroad
then jobs followed,
capitalists
only concerned with profit,
luxurious life,
forgot the toilers
who do the labor
that keeps things running.
The wealthy are unconcerned
if something breaks,
easily replaced,
just a matter of money,
and reveling in opulence
can not conceive
if they drain the blood
the body will collapse
leaving limited choices,
retreat to protected enclaves
long term continuation questionable,
relocate to another land
that may be hospitable
but retention of wealth
might be at risk,
hope to exist on mega-yachts
stopping at port to port
for fuel, supplies,
intending wealth management
on the internet
as long as they have a connection.
It is too much to expect
sufficient common sense,
practical intelligence,
for the rich to know
we are all connected,
some more equal,
but interdependent
for goods and services,
no matter how humble.
If the owners of America
hope to dwell in their land,
pass ownership
to their children
They should share a portion
with the people,
unlike aristos of France
who begrudged a crust
and lost their heads.
