Pariah

Pain and fear unleashed 
People like us; lives destroyed 
Putin: criminal 

Zealots

Zeal brings comfort in simple certainty:
slamming all-in, the grace of balance lost,
bathed in delight that othered victims bled;

yet so ridiculous that people in
a present narrow view of history
dare apply the methods of the witch-hunt, 
which they of course explicitly decry,
to anyone ~
whose lives or roles were ever different
from shallow fervid fond imaginings;

as if we were a squadron of straight rods –
bundled so only they can see the ends
and where the double-bitted axe is held.

For anyone, there may be room for doubt.
Dissent is our essential element.   
~ however difficult.