To Whom It May Concern
To whom it may concern
I think that any
Bigotry,
Ignorance,
Or prejudice
You harbor deep inside should burn.
You need to learn the difference
Between opinion
And plain discrimination
That this nation has failed to advocate for
And so
The fire of hatred within you still roars.
“America needs to wake up,” those conspiracists say,
While we’ve been asleep for so long that it will stay that way
And teachers go without good pay
And students still get put down when they say
That women can do it too,
Or that it isn’t just pink and blue.
People say that melanin doesn’t mean anything
And yet time and time again
The white man still remains king.
See
The thing is
I know it’s none of my business
But yes
you do have privilege.
And I know it’s not your fault,
But I don’t know how you could take that for granted.
You’ve planted the seeds
In your children’s minds
That they’re allowed to undermine
Those who are marginalized.
Well you can take those seeds and
Throw them.
Maybe they’ll grow into a heavens high beanstalk
And when you climb it
You’ll reach enlightenment
from your entitlement.
But what do I know?
You’ll always think they’re
N-words
F-slurs
He/him
She/her
All lives matter
No they don’t
Not when you won’t listen to those
Who scream out
“We aren’t equal to you!”
“We aren’t human to you!”
“God could not have allowed this!”
And yet it happens every day.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people will go jobless today
Black people will get shot for unjustified reasons today
Disabled people will be pushed to their limit today
Indigenous peoples will risk their safety for their families today
Hijabi women will receive harassment today
And people will laugh in their faces today
So to whom it may concern
Know that the underrepresented,
Those whose lives have been politicized
by lies
Have always known this one thing:
When the wicked say,
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
They need to study history.
Because words have hurt for centuries.
Comments
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Joseph Cromwell
I absolutely loved this poem,especially the ending. It hit hard. Id like to encourage you to keep writing poems like this and to share them with everyone. People need to hear these things. Id also like to encourage you to review my poem, "We Are Poeple", and to joing our group, Diverse Poetry. Have a wonderful day!
This is absoutely amazing. I could'nt have said it better. You are not jjust a writer, you are a POET.
I love every line of this, I think I'll share this.
My friend, you have put together words I have been trying to speak for a very long time.
Thank you.
Annette M Velasquez
Exquisitely worded. Your message of course is powerful, but the way you put it all together is sheer poetry! Check out some of my poetry on similar subjects like " Nature- Borders," "Woman at Ellis Island" and "Moving Day." In today's world there's too much that is depressing but, thankfully through art we can stand in unity and voice our outcry!