Cruelty's Pure Luxury

Tyrant or tenant whose rent
Includes all utilities,
The more power you have free,

The more profligate you’ll be.
People don’t discover thrift
Or kindness until they sense

They won’t survive without it.
Meantime, monuments look grand
Built on the bones of conscripts,

And a hot bath’s delicious
In winter, windows open,
Snowflakes dying in your hands.