Managed Decline – Poem, 03/20/26

I hear a lot of talk about the banality of evil
the banality of evil is when you look in the eyes
of a methed out middle-age washout
mad that she can’t have control
mad that she can’t manage someone else’s life
when she can’t even manage her own
surprise, surprise her family’s left her
except when they need her of course,
to bail them out of jail. yet again
I bet they wonder, how different their lives could’ve been
knowing that life, they could’ve lived
if she didn’t always need to exercise control
automatically steering the boat to crash into the rocks
no matter what you know, she always thinks she knows more.
Every time she throws a tantrum, not knowing how many closed doors
not only closed but locked
she caused
and no matter what, she is always the victim
throwing everything and the kitchen sink
at you just to win, not realizing that she may have won in the short term
but in the long term she’ll once again be gone
they talk about the decline of a great power
but you can truly see the decline in her mind
as she snarls in certitude and rage
claiming to have excelled in her training
clutching a B- as if it were an A+
not realizing that even that grade is a lie
you will see a place is going down
whenever she appears