Yesterday Is Now

Stripes on a back,

Stripping a man, a woman,

Of clothes,

Stealing children,

Separating husbands and wives,

Changing an individual’s name:

It all adds up, eventually.

Waving a banner

To glorify it all.

Is it right?

Is it just?

We aren’t proud

Of all that happened,

All that still happens

To a people

That have put up with it all

For far too long.

We must come together.

We must compromise.

We must give up our privilege,

And lift the downtrodden

To a higher place.

The oppressed cry out.

Please, stop the lies.

The hatred

And the cruelty must end.

This is the time.

It is long past time, in fact.

Centuries.

Remove the darkness.

Heal the wounds.

Seek forgiveness.

Come together

For the good of all.