Complications

By Michael Peck

there were too many complications
too many forms of behavior expected
nice right angles meant to shape
your life and opinions
nobody else seemed to mind
or maybe the shaping process
had worked more effectively on them
having started earlier
before the individual character
had formed roots
freedom and independence were valued
as slogans on posters
and in speeches
but not valued in the individual
not in daily life
unless you had the money
to remove yourself
from the working-class reality
which demanded a much more
tight-fitting social uniform
and mindset
schools were to train a workforce
not educate a thinking population
people who think are dangerous
acting independently of the expected norm
only a few very wealthy individuals
were allowed into that room

I am a gregarious loner who lives in the desert in the Utah Four Corners area. I love getting up early in the morning and drinking coffee and writing poetry. I call it a coffee meditation. Writing helps to distill all the local and national political problems that are fermenting in my mind into a usable and drinkable spirit.

Photo credit: Ian Cook via a Creative Commons license.