Hey Readers
In the week Donald Trump is elected to the Whitehouse to succeed Barack Obama as the next president of the USA I write a poem not on his election but on the dangers of assumptions and the problems they can and do create. Trust me I’m speaking from experience on this issue and it’s my considered opinion that the social and cultural conservatism so beloved by the political establishments in all nations are the biggest obstacles to fairness in every country on earth. The force of this phenomenon cannot be underestimated in creating fear and by extension the concept of other. Having done this the prejudice they fuel can and does lead to discrimination and hatred which is often handed down through the generations and reinforced by a willing a complicit press and media. These attitudes if left unchallenged can have the potential to result in some very unpleasant consequences which is why this poem had to be written. I’ve given it the title Hand Me Downs I hope you enjoy the read.
Hand Me Downs
In a quiet moment
I take thinking time
to remember the journey taken
as I map the road yet to be travelled
I ask for patience with those
challenged by authenticity
who see shadows where there are none
make fun of others and assume they know more about me than they do
comment when quiet contemplation would serve them better
they will never surrender
to the calm silence can provide
desperate to be
what they see as the winning side
they can’t hide their inadequacies
talking over others
never discovering anything outside their comfort zones
they prize only what they believe be truth
never thinking fact is supported by evidence
rather than take time
to ask questions
which I know I can answer
with no degree of difficulty
those with narrow minds mock
anyone perceived to be different
I keep my dignity
moving on to tomorrow
without the chains of fear
which bind them to the values of yesterday
and convince them of certainties
worn as hand me downs.
@ Gayle Smith 2016
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