imprisoned

imprisoned by the need;
pleading to be freed
from fortune's fickle deed;
handcuffed by poverty,
without a voice to plead
for some advocacy.

imprisoned by the weight
of facist potentate,
when rescue comes too late
for people of no worth;
the suffering caused by fate...
some freakish twist of birth.

imprisoned in the cell
of lies the addicts tell,
denying how they fell
from Heaven's holy grace;
a self-contructed hell
lines every hopeless face.

imprisoned by the rash
belief in easy cash,
with Lightning's pending flash;
what chance of striking twice?
it leaves an empty gash
with every hope-rolled dice.

imprisoned by desire;
the soul upon the pyre,
drawn towards the fire,
like oxygen to flame;
seductive demon choir
sells one more famous name.

the love of wealth can make men mad

the love of wealth can make men mad,
the most gentle and
circumspect of us all.

of women, too, but they are driven
in a different way. They are
less likely to abandon family
and committments.

but men's minds are lost at the slightest
scent of gold or silver

leaving wives and children, lovers and friends
jobs and home and any sense
of foundation or anchor
to any semblance of meaning.