deepundergroundpoetry.com
mental shackles
“There is little hope for us until we become tough-minded enough to
break loose from the shackles of prejudice, half-truths, and down-
right ignorance.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.
zoot scales fell from my eyes,
but i did not yet know
that light was mine, if only i would look;
brute chains fell from my thighs,
yet i did not know how
to move along where, years, no step i took.
when sighted men fall blind
by willful ignorance,
then shall all else, for vision-lack, bear blame?
when former ties that bind
give liberty to dance,
shall manumitted slaves live on in shame?
an animal? a man?
how shall i plead my cause?
can dignity retire in festered swamps?
trapped in this calaban,
wherefore shall i find pause,
if all my dwelling were where death encamps?
let me not perish long,
though vision were for sale,
if, from life's last brief breath, i gain one gasp.
set free my passion song,
where tone and tune avail,
that, from past weakness, i may fresh strength grasp.
© Copyright 2023 November 27
by Clyve A. Bowen♫
break loose from the shackles of prejudice, half-truths, and down-
right ignorance.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.
zoot scales fell from my eyes,
but i did not yet know
that light was mine, if only i would look;
brute chains fell from my thighs,
yet i did not know how
to move along where, years, no step i took.
when sighted men fall blind
by willful ignorance,
then shall all else, for vision-lack, bear blame?
when former ties that bind
give liberty to dance,
shall manumitted slaves live on in shame?
an animal? a man?
how shall i plead my cause?
can dignity retire in festered swamps?
trapped in this calaban,
wherefore shall i find pause,
if all my dwelling were where death encamps?
let me not perish long,
though vision were for sale,
if, from life's last brief breath, i gain one gasp.
set free my passion song,
where tone and tune avail,
that, from past weakness, i may fresh strength grasp.
© Copyright 2023 November 27
by Clyve A. Bowen♫
Published 29th Nov 2023
| Edited 30th Nov 2023
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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Commenting Preference:
The author encourages honest critique.
5th Dec 2023 9:31am
Really makes one think. I have not walked ten steps in the shoes of those that deal w the unimaginable. I hate that for you and yours. I appreciate the resolve and your talent you have shared.
6th Dec 2023 1:50am
Those are kind words, Robert; thank you. It's also an honest reponse on your part, which gives you leverage in commiserating with the less fortunate.
Isn't it negatively interesting how individuals may lead their private lives without a thought for anyone else, without ever reaching out to empathise with circumstances different from their own?
I do not know whether you subsctibe to the Bible, but when a smart-aleck lawyer asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?" he was advised that anyone in need was his neighbour. The story of the Good Samaritan was used to illustrate the paracticalities of this, in Luke 10:25-37.
Yours sincerely
cab
Isn't it negatively interesting how individuals may lead their private lives without a thought for anyone else, without ever reaching out to empathise with circumstances different from their own?
I do not know whether you subsctibe to the Bible, but when a smart-aleck lawyer asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?" he was advised that anyone in need was his neighbour. The story of the Good Samaritan was used to illustrate the paracticalities of this, in Luke 10:25-37.
Yours sincerely
cab
6th Dec 2023 2:12am
I’m a Catholic and spent a year each on the Old and New Testament. But Scripture aside , treat people like you want to be treated is a very simple but exacting measure. It’s often been said that the morality or “heart”” of a civilized nation is best displayed by measuring how much the people without the problem care about the people that do. That’s all the scripture I need. I was lucky as I grew up in a mixed neighborhood and w parents very attuned to social inequity. Im fact it wasn’t until April 4th 1968 that the ugliness that is racism was displayed in full ardor Everything changed and I was sad because my genuine friendships that saw no color were subject to a new public idiocy and ended as collateral damage. Til this day there are white folks I’ve known for years that suddenly , all be it calmly, show that poison vitriol and worst is they expect it to be unquestioned and well received
