Apex Predator

The ascendant, exalted

apex predator surveying the

supplicant masses

dispirited, indentured, commodified

they languish in their misery

acquiescent to degradation

THE DEFENSE:

So cruel are the vagaries of fortune

by which I was uplifted while

others were summarily cast down

So spare me your righteous indignation

accuse me not of turpitude or hubris

for simply being what I am

my rapacity is obligatory

it comes with the territory

though my acts may seem transgressive

they simply exceed your paltry grasp

your admonitions mean nothing

your plight is worthy of pity

but it's the consequence of your own fallacy

plaintive cries, falling on deaf ears

mean nothing

The truculent, decadent

apex predator stands accused

of imperious vices

the masses, aggrieved in their squalor

no longer will they submit to degradation

A litany of accusations accosting me

follows me through my dominion

vulgar throngs at the gates

shrilly demanding recompense

Cowards! you protect yourselves with numbers

you think you can earn parity

extorting from me pounds of my flesh?

Ingrates! so feeble-minded, you cannot comprehend

the splendor, the endowment

I've bestowed unto the likes of you

THE PROSECUTION:

Your ill-gotten gains are evidence of your abasement

Your seat atop the food chain is a throne of lies

Enervated without your precious wealth to save you

expect no clemency from those you've preyed upon

Usurer, we return your gold to those who earned it

Despot, your tormented subjects we release

Your perceived invulnerability is pure contrivance

Your platitudes mean nothing to us anymore

Bloodied you shall bow under the weight of evidence against you

Deny if you will, mendacity assures your condemnation

Slave driver, you'll succumb under the yoke your thralls have carried

Now revealed for what you truly are:

No apex predator...

No lowly scavenger...

A parasite!