Fear by 

Beginnings bear an energy
and this one’s come with malice
and contempt
for values I hold dear.

I’m frightened

 by cruel men
dismantling government for the people installing hatred as its creed.

I’m frightened

by their mean-spirited greed
and ill-construed
vengeance.

I’m frightened

by their rule of lawless disorder
their bloated masculinity.
The Hobbesian beast’s unleashed
to smash and grab

and break anything
anyone
they deem unworthy
inferior
inhuman.

And they despise
all of us
who fall outside
their rancid vision.

They’re branding
their beast-mark
across the backs
of the weak, the poor,
the already disenfranchised
low-hanging fruit
for small-minded bullies
and goons.

Each day
the headlines slap
the latest assault
on human decency
across my face.

I’m frightened
by the conflagration
consuming human rights
fueled by the fear
these cowardly men
pervert into righteousness.

We’re all frightened;

We’re transient creatures
stumbling
through an enigmatic world.

Yet we all always
have a choice
between love and fear.
Let’s hope love prevails
In the long run
we’ll need it to smooth the scars
left by their pompous
ill-fated immorality
disguised as governance.
Kathy Sisson