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!