Walking With My Brother

Written circa 1976

Prejudice,
That ugly mire of slime,
Slithering, surrounding society

Like a toxic smog, obscuring vision and perception
From the warmth and clarity of understanding.

Prejudice,
Fed dutifully at a mother’s breast,
Flowing, as a river, into the sea of life.

Resolutely guided by a father’s hand,
Seeping, with determination,
Through the layers of our innocence.

Prejudice,
Born of ignorance,
Emboldened by anger,
Perfected with fear.

That subtle yet hostile enemy
That kills understanding and charity.
Like a knife sunk deep into the heart.

Slowly,
Inexorably…twisting and tearing flesh and sinew;

Allowing life-blood to drip away,
Without a tear,
Without a trace of remorse,
Without conscience.

However despised the word, yet
An Act,
Practiced by the prideful.

A feeling,
Consciously or subconsciously condoned.

A cancer,
Infecting, creeping unchecked,
Fouling and killing the soul of society.