too much respect
for inside voice 
in places where
the outside voice
should be required
too much tolerance
of outside voice 
where inside voice
would work better

the swollen tissue
we call
money

entirely too much
unearned
self-esteem

the inability to see
complexity
patiently

the notion that 
any “_____ism”
isn’t holding steady

a lack of real eagles
married to 
a preference for symbolic ones

armored intensities
squared off

an insistence upon
picture perfection

laughter wrung
from the deadly misfortune
of others being other

its standing in red-soaked earth
kept wet through clumsy inattention
and skillful market research

its clowned remarkability
and
its durable packaging