On Being Civilized

Look at you. You're nicely dressed,
The pale and affluent exemplars of
The European code: brag about your
Rights and honor. Say that even
Pallid paupers get to have their
Days in court, while, elsewhere,
Where no one will notice, darker
Men are slammed to walls and
Drowned, a price the privileged
Will pay to put their minds at ease.
“We won't, we can't, submit to
Terror. Ticking time bombs;
Don't you see? Our ends have
Justified our means,” and, thus,
The pallid man, beheaded, proves
The brown one's savagery, while
Slaughtered Muslims go
Uncounted. Each is treacherous,
It seems. The two year-olds,
The toothless women, perish.
Why would someone care?
The cameras catch you having
Coffee, smiling beatifically.
As yet, your world is secure. The
Brown are drowned. The white can
Breathe. You eat your oil-drizzled
Salad. Look at you, the innocents.
The ones who've said they get to
Say what are, and are not, human
Rights. The lights go dim in countless
Prisons. What transpires isn't what
You'd care to know. It isn't right,
But, dressed correctly, affluent,
You realize that privilege must be
Sustained by practices which
Oughtn't face the light.



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 96 times
Written on 2014-12-11 at 22:02

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