Lent Poetry 26

Matthew 5:3-10

When I was little
we watched
The Elephant Man.
my mom told me that
I was so upset by it
because I couldn't understand why
people where so mean to him
he was a person
just like them
didn't they know that?

when I was a teenager
the news about AIDS
filled the airwaves
the bigotry and fear was obvious
I couldn't understand why,
just because they
loved differently,
parents would be grateful to
watch their child suffer and die

when the lockdown came
I tried to educate--
pleading with people
to put on a mask
and get vaccinated
I tried as best I could
with the resources I had

I watch social media now
and my heart hurts
We have no Schindler,
or Diana, or Martin, or Nelson--
Not a singular figure of compassion
that we are able to rally around,
no guideposts to force us
to do what is right

now I understand why
they were horrible
to The Elephant Man.
I know how bigotry kills
how ignorance destroys empathy
it's easier for us
to hate and destroy
than to look another human
in the eyes
and realize
that they are as human
as you