deepundergroundpoetry.com
HERITAGE
windows boarded
and roofs caved in
this town
choked on itself decades ago,
resistance a thorn in its musty craw,
that southern sheen of kindness
hiding a cancer hot and roiling under its pale skin,
its history dark, bloody, and proud
and goddamn if i couldn't feel its sickness
rising through the concrete
and smell it at every turn,
us proud southern boys
still waving our stupid flags
our poor ol' fathers' fathers
shackled by the same strange hubris
willing to die for a planter's cause
thus as much a slave as any
only white,
relishing their privilege
but standing just a hair's breadth
from the whipping post,
a heritage
better forgotten
and roofs caved in
this town
choked on itself decades ago,
resistance a thorn in its musty craw,
that southern sheen of kindness
hiding a cancer hot and roiling under its pale skin,
its history dark, bloody, and proud
and goddamn if i couldn't feel its sickness
rising through the concrete
and smell it at every turn,
us proud southern boys
still waving our stupid flags
our poor ol' fathers' fathers
shackled by the same strange hubris
willing to die for a planter's cause
thus as much a slave as any
only white,
relishing their privilege
but standing just a hair's breadth
from the whipping post,
a heritage
better forgotten
Published 12th Oct 2021
Author's Note
I grew up down here, but have never been much on so-called "southern heritage." I think the confederate battle flag is an embarrassment.
It flies all around me.
This town did die. My wife and I imagined it was cursed by its history.
It flies all around me.
This town did die. My wife and I imagined it was cursed by its history.
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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Anonymous
- Edited 15th Nov 2021 10:45pm
12th Oct 2021 3:23pm
<< post removed >>
12th Oct 2021 4:45pm
12th Oct 2021 3:25pm
We may be the product of our parents, and our environment, but that’s certainly not who we become as adults !
So much tragedy in the past, and one can only hope, that everyone is capable of moving forward and emerging, respectfully.
You should be proud of who you & your wife are; decent people who understand there’s only one race, and that’s the human race in which we belong to one another, purely by design irrespective of differences; skin tone, religion, profession, postcode etc…😇🙏
So much tragedy in the past, and one can only hope, that everyone is capable of moving forward and emerging, respectfully.
You should be proud of who you & your wife are; decent people who understand there’s only one race, and that’s the human race in which we belong to one another, purely by design irrespective of differences; skin tone, religion, profession, postcode etc…😇🙏
12th Oct 2021 5:00pm
I like that.
Thanks so much for reading and and for your kind comment.
Very much appreciated.
J.
Thanks so much for reading and and for your kind comment.
Very much appreciated.
J.
12th Oct 2021 7:29pm
13th Oct 2021 2:07pm
Anonymous
13th Oct 2021 8:33am
the southern heritage, more properly the south-eastern heritage, from WVA to MO, and down to TX / the gulf and east--
much of that heritage is from Britain.
The cancer you smell, though, probably isn't unique to the southeast, or south.
Practically all of the country is dying. We are seeing the first generation--those born after 2000--who will die before their parents.
The result? Mask mandates, vax mandates--because the generations before us have raised a sickly generation: pollution and over-farming have depleted / destroyed food; inactivity; over-medicated--medication replacing food for many; over-stimulated; from broken families; in communities hollowed out by free trade, globalization,
as well as plagued by gambling, porn, fentanyl, not to mention diversity (which in excess leads to social isolation, leading to...porn / gambling / drug & alcohol & food addiction--read de Tocqueville)...
A generation addicted to dopamine-triggers; & overfed, under-nourished; scared of germs; hooked on pharma & the medical industry...And really, who can blame them?
I was only harder, more violent.
Blessed, fortunate to have had mentors tougher and stronger than I was.
The US in a sad state of affairs, that will only grow worse.
On a side note: I've been reading about the concept of "moral outrage," how it's a mechanism by which someone expresses moral outrage & condemnation at members of their own group (like southerners), and so doing alleviates feelings of guilt...
Food for thought!
much of that heritage is from Britain.
The cancer you smell, though, probably isn't unique to the southeast, or south.
Practically all of the country is dying. We are seeing the first generation--those born after 2000--who will die before their parents.
The result? Mask mandates, vax mandates--because the generations before us have raised a sickly generation: pollution and over-farming have depleted / destroyed food; inactivity; over-medicated--medication replacing food for many; over-stimulated; from broken families; in communities hollowed out by free trade, globalization,
as well as plagued by gambling, porn, fentanyl, not to mention diversity (which in excess leads to social isolation, leading to...porn / gambling / drug & alcohol & food addiction--read de Tocqueville)...
A generation addicted to dopamine-triggers; & overfed, under-nourished; scared of germs; hooked on pharma & the medical industry...And really, who can blame them?
I was only harder, more violent.
Blessed, fortunate to have had mentors tougher and stronger than I was.
The US in a sad state of affairs, that will only grow worse.
On a side note: I've been reading about the concept of "moral outrage," how it's a mechanism by which someone expresses moral outrage & condemnation at members of their own group (like southerners), and so doing alleviates feelings of guilt...
Food for thought!
13th Oct 2021 2:56pm
Thanks, Mark, for reading, and for sharing your thoughts.
My group has expanded over the years, and my interpretation of some cultural phenom evolved.
I love the south but hate its politics.
I love history, and the way facts have leaked into narrative.
It's re-educational.
Thanks again.
J.
My group has expanded over the years, and my interpretation of some cultural phenom evolved.
I love the south but hate its politics.
I love history, and the way facts have leaked into narrative.
It's re-educational.
Thanks again.
J.
Anonymous
- Edited 9th Mar 2022 4:45am
16th Oct 2021 4:33pm
<< post removed >>
16th Oct 2021 9:30pm
