Capitalism Rampant
Simple questions should require
simple answers from government,
but are mostly obfuscated
by elected officials
who dance the dance of politics,
as they shelter the wealthy
from economic mistakes
the public always pays for.
Crushing corporate failures
cost the nation jobs and homes,
yet rewarded those who caused collapse
who were quick to abandon
the faltering ship
with golden parachutes.
As lending institutions
lend too much to be repaid.
the makers of disaster
huddle on super-yachts,
ask congress to rescue them
and spare the punishment
for harm caused to the people,
while they still indulge
in extravagant pleasures.
Endangered Republic
Instead of proceeding
to a glorious future,
the republic of dreams
painfully faltered,
blindly confusing
the hope of control
of the turbulent world
in the constant confrontation
with stubborn resistance.
Mired in debt, foreign wars,
the threat of terror,
the loss of homes, jobs,
symptoms of decay
that could be arrested
by science and invention,
if we haven't lost the hunger
for rapacious achievement.
Degree of Difference
White collar crime
was never considered
worse than violent crime,
since injuries were unseen
and blood was not shed.
Yet economic harm
inflicted on the victims
by ambassadors of greed
has affected so many
and certainly requires
drastic punishment.
Torturous
Tomorrows
Once when our country still made things
people believed in the future,
looking forward to tomorrow
and the rewards for their efforts.
Somehow our land went astray,
perhaps betrayed by the wealthy
who sent their capital abroad
in the quest for greater profits,
perhaps deceived by our leaders
who placed personal ambition
above the public well-being,
perhaps squandered by our people
when we lost raw vitality
that once built opportunity.
The future will determine
whether we emerge from torpor,
or submerge in the second world.
A people may endure
long after their nation
loses its vitality,
but are forever changed.
Gone is enthusiasm,
urgency, anticipation,
hunger for accomplishment,
leaving a drab residue
of day to day existence,
diminished expectations,
a dreary struggle to survive
a desolate destiny
we fear will befall
our imperiled country.
Gary Beck/Blossoms Of Decay
