We live in a world where
People treat one another like—

(provide your own appropriate 4-letter word here)

At home, work, school
It’s all the same
Our misguided priorities
Pitting us against
Ourselves

Climbing to the top of a sinkhole
of humanity

Grappling for a toehold
Our feet pressed into the nose and eyes
...of those below us

Our fingers dug into the backs
...of those above

Should we wonder then that monsters
Ooze out of our wounds
To claim what is rightfully no one’s

And dare we shun responsibility
For not recognizing
Who we are?


(Previously published in The Underbeat Journal, July 2003)