Small Things

It starts with the small things,
A bully shoves the weakest kid
He’s separated from the herd
And dominant brats move in to kill

His glasses broken,
Lying in blood on the floor
His social carcass dragged away —
The feast begins

A girl in the alley
A nice girl, never knowing
Someone’s ignorant ego ended her —
Spilled her blood, violated her so completely, that we cannot imagine

Military dictators
Military pigs
Kill their objects of hate,
Kill themselves, kill hope, love, kindness, humanity

They bait the trap of fear
And we cower in the absolute zero of their shadows
They lift God like a rifle and aim him at others
Who, ignorantly aim him back at them

Finally a screaming jet 747
Thousands of gallons of jet fuel
And the towers came down
We, hardly believing what had transpired before our eyes

Remember,

How Lao Tzu fled his country, becoming very tired — and rested
At the Great Wall, a guard questioned him —
“Why must you leave civilization,” he asked?
The sage breathed heavily — “because men are too cruel!”

We learn quickly that the world does not work the way it should,
We give up, standing in the ensuing downpour
Understanding that our only chance of surviving, is not to seek shelter
And it ALWAYS begins with the small things!

Peter W. Johnson — 9/11/2017