Today’s America reminds me of the roman days
when people built pyramids and palaces
when empires rose on the bones of the poor
when pharaohs feasted
and everyone else prayed to survive
that’s where we’re at now
not in progress
not in freedom
but in return
we’re going backwards
and it can only get worse
and it will
they say you can leave
they say you have a choice
but only if you’re rich
only if you have a passport, a job, a platform
I don’t
I have a friend in norway
and even that’s not enough
they don’t let poor people escape
they keep us here to feed the machine
no one builds castles out of gold
without someone breaking their back
underneath it
this oligarchy isn’t coming
it’s here
bought and branded
by billionaires who’ll never bleed
who will never hunger
who will never feel the weight of medicine denied
or groceries skipped
or elections stolen out from under them
they don’t need us
but we still serve
and when we protest
they sleep soundly
when we strike
they fly out for food
when we collapse
they change the channel
and still
they sell us hope
like a product
like a drug
like a leash
this is empire reborn
this is not a glitch
this is not new
this is 3000 years ago
with screens
and satellites
and stock portfolios
we are not citizens
we are labor
we are scaffolding
we are tired
so fucking tired
Copyright © July 2025
J. Doucette. All rights reserved.
Powerfully penned, Jackie. Into the book it belongs! Spitting bars my friend. We’re slaves to the machine all right, the 1% will keep taking, they’re soulless bastards. Dig this spill. Appreciate you.
Damian
We are living in dangerous times… I hope people realize where we are going …
“Big, Beautiful Bill” or “Build Back Better”….I don’t see the letter B, all I see are the 6’s. This has been coming for some time. Decades, maybe longer. We’re getting whatever is about to happen, no matter our affiliations. I always dig a solid dystopian write. We are corporate assets. And very fucking tired. Who knows what the future holds? Let’s see where it goes from here.