EVIL

Evil comes in many sizes,

Cloaks itself in myriad guises,

Pretends to offer a helping hand,

Says it always understands.

It isn’t just a scary fiend

Who visits in horrific dreams;

It lives behind smiling faces

That slyly despise other races.

It's at the table as the fortunate carve

Succulent roasts while others starve.

And, while patriotic fervor soars

It sends us off to needless wars...

Wars that fatten the carrion birds

When we’re gulled by heated words

Flowing from politicians’ throats,

That isolate reason like fetid moats.

It makes us able to quietly ignore

The abuses taking place next door.

And, of course, I can always see

The faults in you, but never in me.

Can we always honestly claim

To know where to place the blame?

Sometimes evil begins to bloom

From seeds planted in this very room.

 6/3/2006 by Thurman P. Woodfork