Enslaved to a horoscope,
some won’t drive far when Mercury is retrograde.

Engaged by humor,
they let offense slide off their numb tongues.

Enthralled by heritage,
they won’t give credit to others.

Eviscerated by holy writ,
they scourge the unbelievers in their prayers.

Enlisted by history,
they reap the bodies of the designated scapegoats.

Every time it happens,
we call it instinct

or natural order or divine will or the stars aligning,
when in fact it comes down to

what we allow
to rule us without forethought,

and from horoscope to Holocaust
is not all that far to travel.