TO THE ESTRANGED

Sometimes a person may be tempted to accept

neglect from those who seem to qualify as great,

assuming ignorance and cold to be his fate;

resigned to anonymity, dejected, swept

away by bitter bankruptcy, and those adept

at arrogance; to be inclined to overrate

those privileged successors of the fourth estate,

believing roses sprout where the Elite have stepped.

Bohemian! The toe of the Establishment

is pink adobe rooted in a pool of spittle,

eroding slowly by an unobstructed drip

from spread lips, having hardened, curled without relent.

This hulk, to hold its structure, must stand noncommittal,

and may not move to save itself — head, hand, nor hip.