Crime, Emotion, and Sorrow – Unclean Hands

sadness-man-in-the-shadow-1368461366es7Have you found yourself there?

The place, with the thing

That guy or girl, or those guys and girls

Twos, threes, sometimes more

Keeping secrets, avoiding questions

One thing leads to another…

Stories ever-changing, evolving

Hear me now, forget all else

Shame leads to heartbreak

Lies lead to lies which lead to lies

Keeping them straight an option

Every word said with caution

Some hands will never be clean

Maybe it’s the allure of the green

Money tight but it’s in plain sight

No one’s watching or keeping count

One dollar becomes ten and then twenty

Theft is habit forming, just ask a thief

Perhaps information is the game

Documents exchanged in alleyways

Microchips, thumb drives, pictures

Faces buried deep within upturned collars

Hat pulled low and dark glasses

Contemplation over guilt

Sleepless nights, emotions spent

Replaced by the icy cold of nothingness

Marketing secrets that aren’t your own

Pay the ticket and you’ll be shown

Confidential today is tomorrow’s news

Who’s watching who and why?

Malefactor is my name, or maybe it’s not

Remorse; just thinking about it for now

Easily distracted by what’s around

Unattended riches catch the eye

Slip on over and slip on by

So easy that a child could do it

What’s the harm in it?

Weakness is often called a sin

Human beings turned on a whim

Cheating, Lying, Stealing, Crime

Every occurrence strips more feeling

A husk, a shell, a mere form remains

Empty vessel entrenched in a game

Living in a seven ten split

Odds are that most will miss

The parasitic underbelly of the world

Pulls some down, keep’s ahold

Deceitful acts stacked like cordwood

Little time to think of good

Willpower the solution or so it’s said

Make the break or end up dead

Eulogy a work of fiction

Said aloud without conviction

A life of crime leading to eviction

 

R J Schwartz
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R J Schwartz

I write about everything and sometimes nothing at all. I'm fascinated by old things, rusty things, abandoned places, or anywhere that a secret might be unearthed. I'm passionate about history and many of my pieces are anchored in one concept of time or another. I've always been a writer, dating back to my youth, but the last decade has been a time of growth for me. I'm continually pushing the limitations of vocabulary, syntax, and descriptive phrasing.

2 thoughts on “Crime, Emotion, and Sorrow – Unclean Hands

  • December 1, 2016 at 6:56 PM
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    Some great and tight phrasing with wonderful imagery Ralph, of that human frailty of self-gain and negative choices. It flows so nicely while, exacting those hideous acts of criminality that can eventuate on such a path. great work

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