I don’t need to go through Stanford Prison
or live through Third Nazi years
to know if I could live through
the rough treatment of authority figures:
I can’t.
When the going gets tough,
I say “how high?”

I have worked for the Military Industrial Complex.
I have been paid by folks who have stolen from the Little Guy.
I have been the bully when it is convenient.
I lived through the Trump Years and didn’t do a thing.

I am not the one who stood up.
I am not the one who fought.
I am not the one who spoke truth to power.
I am the one who gave up easily
willingly
wailfully.
It’s so easy to do.
I could do it all day.

If you are looking for a champion
someone to beat the odds
look further then,
look much further,
for that creature is further afield than here
and is much, much harder to find.