under the civil surface 

there’s a beast in a cage 

filled with rage

chained to a million formalities 

 

despite decades of 

domestication 

centuries of education 

it hungers for a new reckoning 

 

some well-intentioned fool 

bends the rules 

and is lucky to get away 

in just one piece 

 

other reformers 

have become pot-boilers 

lacking only a pinch of salt 

to make its meal 

 

we’ve redesigned the environment 

enlarging the confinement 

aiming gaps in the traps

at our enemies 

 

the current government 

is hoping to export this product

creating an eco-friendly 

entirely-healthy natural new brutality