Divided We Fall
The news media and politicians have been doing everything
possible lately to pull us apart as a nation,
It’s all about dividing us into tribes and losing track of
all the ways we are connected to each other.
They want to know the color of our skin, where we are from,
and the nature of our politics. No one wants to notice that beneath our various
colors and flags, we are pretty much the same with many hopes and dreams that
fit anywhere. And the politics of things change faster than the weather. Anyone
who hooks their hopes to a particular party for any length of time is going to
have a difficult and frustrating life.
We should search in life for the things we have in common,
not look for things we can use to cause hatred and division.
If we could stop for just a moment from trying to control
each other’s lives because some politician or angry soul is trying to achieve
power, we would begin to understand that communities and good neighbors are created
by compromise and cooperation. Lawsuits, single party dictates and denying the individual traits among all the
broad members of our humanity does not change the fact that they exist.
We are letting the purveyors of doom and domination destroy
the common core that makes America great and gives so much hope to the downtrodden
nations of the world.
In my new book, Ball of String, I try to search for
those things that connect us as a nation and as members of world community.
The following poem is about all the “scarecrows” that the
power-hungry of the world try to use to turn us inward and afraid.
Thanks for reading. I can’t seem to put my photos on this
blog (a major issue) but there is a great photo that goes with this poem in my
book.
Regards,
Glenn K. Currie
Scarecrows
They are everywhere, flapping in the wind,
Dressed to accomplish their role.
In fancy suits worn like armor to intimidate,
Or in old sneakers and wifebeaters,
Complaining about restricted access.
Soldiers filled with straw, hang from hooks,
Under careful orders to do nothing.
Guardians for a negligent nation
That has spread its seeds in fields
Too fertile to go untouched.
Predators use deceit to elude them.
Monsters see their vacant stares
And pillage without proscription.
The breeze that rattles the tin pans
Only serves to call invaders to the feast.
Politicians and professors fill volumes
Praising the accomplishments of scarecrows,
Certain they will frighten away visitors,
With their hobo hats and souvenir sweatshirts,
While the ravens quietly eat the seeds.
Copyright Glenn K. Currie
