Pretending To Be Concerned Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

I use to be accused of making,
Some of the most outrageous comments.
With a cynical and sarcastic flair.
But today my statements are not as offensive,
As I would like others to perceive them to be.
No!
It seems my 'detected' embitterness,
Now is expressed openly by many.

Am I angered by this?
YES!
When I was thought to be a misfit maverick,
With nationalistic motives...
That allowed me to flaunt a daring to be different.
Today?
Everybody wants to be deemed as a disgruntled citizen.
And loudly voicing their disgust.

It seems as if when I did this,
I was quickly abandoned...
By those who chose to defend their pretentions.
And now...
They are pretending to be concerned.