I will not call her by name
Indulge her vanity
Perpetuate her memory
Except as example of self-serving volunteerism
Charity as charade
The stage upon which she performed
A maestro orchestrating deeds
Mesmerizing board members easily swayed
Duped to showcase her at the expense of the public trust
They swore to serve in good faith
A frequent failing of volunteer boards
That has laid waste to countless causes close to my heart
Made vulnerable by vague shallow liaisons
Unaccountable provisional partnerships
That undermine social issues and public institutions
Usurping them from within
Whether held captive by personality
Or crippled by caution
All suffocated by congenial people with good intentions
And already lengthy obituaries
Bourgeois benefactors of the status quo
Capable of committing time and money
Yet reticent of conflict and loath of self-criticism
Preferring pleasantries without politics
And politics without passion
At odds with activism
Disinclined to stray from accepted custom
Circumvent conventional channels
Assail banality
Over time the mission mutates
Redefined by ensuing directorates
That douse the fire of creation with prudent considerations
Realigning its outlook and sensibilities
Reconfiguring its assets and creed
Reorienting its base
From constituents to contributors
From the grassroots to the socially suitable
Culled courted and cajoled to increase their investment
And in time their involvement
Offered a seat on the board to secure the bond
The keys of the kingdom given to dilettantes from the corporate culture
Antitheists to social justice movements
With irreconcilable lifestyles opposed at their core to universality
Consolidating all authority in an executive committee
Unilaterally setting policy and writing bylaws
Insular and autocratic
The stake in the heart to any populous movement
Which soon languishes
The struggle never won
The issue never resolved
Necessitating the continuation of a thriving organization
Its very existence becoming the crux of the fight
Launching capital campaigns and strategic plans
Insuring its legacy by growing its net worth
Housed in suitable offices to attract ever-larger contributions
Manned by a growing staff of like minds
Expanding exponentially everything except its perspective
Satisfied with inconsequential successes
Abandoning its core commitments
Denying its rebellious beginnings
Assuming the bureaucratic form of its foe
Once staunchly autonomous
Now content to compromise and concede
Losing its way on middle ground
A progressive agenda devoid of progress
Elitism eclipsing democracy
Another social cause betrayed
The victim of date rape
