Saturday, January 20, 2018

ONE YEAR

an education

they say love trumps hate
in the end
but it could just be hatred
turned cold and bored
there’s a lot to be said
for anger and apathy melding into something
seemingly benevolent
and his anonymous comment
say the only muslims he knows
are the ones killing people on tv
i guess my opinion
is skewed here in brooklyn
passing signs in arabic in chinese in russian
in english and spanish
most often on the same building
i think this is what america is about
because deep down i’m still hanging onto
the innocent white lie
even though the truth couldn’t be more apparent now
my anonymous comment back
tells him to shut up and get educated
although i could tell him
about the arabic kids on the street here
on skateboards
on cell phones
playing video games and defying their parents
just like every other kid in america
do my part to bridge
this chasm of hate and misunderstanding
that seemingly wants to swallow us all
but who wants to hear that in the heat of the moment?
no one wants to hear how much we’re the same
when there’s so much to gain
in losing it all
another anonymous person writes
love wins
which is what got me
to this point in the first place
i wish that i could be that kind of optimistic
to walk around in the rosy world
just waiting for everyone else to blossom
that kind of bliss
must feel nice
like a white suicide
but in the end i write to her
because i think it’s a her
and tell her
that she’s needs to get an education too.

                                                                        
--John Grochalski 

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