They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover,
while it’s the safest way to know what to expect.
They also say you’re the company you keep,
and that the state of your home is a representation
of clean you feel.
In most Latin, Asian, European and Middle Eastern homes,
no shoes are allowed
and sometimes we walk all over each other.
As a child, he always read the last five pages first.
because he liked to know what he was getting into.
The conscious advise against biases,
the woke support the tired,
the privileged pretend they don’t see,
and the in-between smile tongue tied.
Two wars, millions of deaths –
Overheard in LA memes about
the rising value of bitcoin.
“Who’s side are you on?” The upper west sider asks the yuppie.
“I’m not on social media,” she replies.
So if you don’t know,
or see, or feel, or relate,
do you get a say?
Define ‘ignorance’ in English
and ‘ignorante’ in Portugese.
The first is clueless,
the latter means uneducated.
What’s the average of world wars,
genocides, market crashes, corruption,
terrorism, pandemic, and depression?
Us.
“Big brother is watching,” the veteran whispers,
“like Orwell said he would.”
Are we a threat?
“So, which side are you on?” his roommate sobs.
“On yours, of course,” he spits,
wondering if his grandfather could hear him.
Have we not figured out that every conflict
brews from a deep need to be held?
A longing to belong,
to own, or rather oversee and protect
the ground our family survives on?
We know what happens next.
Tell me then, whether it’s about fact
pain, injustice, religion, money,
or a deep need to be held.
Generations of frightened children.
We wish the world would spoon feed us
chicken soup seasoned with unconditional love.
We’re novels begging to be opened
but most of all, to be
read & understood.
See us.