I don’t know what’s wrong with people

  

I don’t know what’s wrong with people

  

I pass people in the street

I say hello

They say nothing back.

I pass them in the hallways at work

They fake a smile

To a certain person

If they think it will get them somewhere.

They flick lit cigarettes out of car windows

And leer at little kids

Occasionally someone tries to take one

I don’t know what’s wrong with them.

                         

They fight like cats and dogs in their homes

But no one ever leaves

They abuse their kids

Who grow up to do it all over again.

There’s always something to whine about

It’s somebody else’s fault

ALL the men

And the women

The politicians

The banks

The boss

The foreigners

The co-workers

The inspectors

The laws

The unions

The truck drivers

The young

The partner

The lover

The neighbour

They bitch and moan

And rant online

But won’t do anything about it.

They decry social justice

And walk past the homeless person on the street

They decry decency and respect

While treating someone close with disdain

They don’t practice what they preach

I don’t understand why they do that.

They text while driving in busy streets

They speed past crowded playgrounds

And schools

They get impatient and sickened by the elderly

As though they got slow on purpose.

I don’t know what’s wrong with people.

They king hit strangers

For no reason

And lay in the boot.

They’re tough in groups

And target the easiest prey.

They’re quick to judge

While committing the same mistakes.

They take the credit

For the work of others

Especially if it helps in a promotion.

The privileged get a free ride

And don’t comprehend what they have

While others grow bitter

Without putting in the hard yards.

Most live like kings

Compared to other nations

And some in their own towns and cities

Yet it’s never enough.

Some offer you the world

And give you nothing

While others make no secret

That they’re out to take and take.

Some don’t acknowledge the existence of others at all

Which I wouldn’t mind so much

If they didn’t screw others over in the process.

There are many good people about

Yet there’s nothing more disappointing

Than discovering that some 

Are merely arseholes in disguise

After you've invested time and soul.

And perhaps I’m no better

I’m certain I’m no worse

And while I know it’s always been this way

I still wonder

What the fuck is wrong with people?

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2022 update - This poem appears in the new story/poetry collection, Us & Them and the Things in-between.