Poetry

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The following poem was submitted by Wes Davenport, 2002. (Note: This is copyrighted material. Please do not reproduce without the author's written consent.)

"Why Must We Hate"

Why must we hate to become who we are?
Why can't I just love you,
Let you be who you choose,
What is it that I think that I will lose?

Why does it matter if my skin is white
Or yellow or brown or black as the night?
What is the difference if I am from the west
Or the east, north or south. Why is one best?

Suppose that sexually, my preference is straight,
or homosexual or lesbian or I swing like a gate?
As long as I am truthful, leave children alone,
Love you as well as I am able, why can't my choice be my own?

Why must we hate to stay who we are?
Allow me to be me, I'll go as far.
I'll let you be who you choose,
I don't think we have one thing to lose.

If I am a Catholic, a Protestant or Jew,
Or Muslim or Buddhist or even Himdu,
We are on the same journey trying to discover what's true,
Let me search in my way, I'll grant the same right to you.

Suppose, just suppose that I'm a white, middle class male,
Is that a reason to hate me, to hurt me, to want me to fail?
Some of us are trying to be all we can,
And we can do it, too, woman or man.

Why must you hate me to learn to be you?
I know I can love you and still be me, too.
One way is torturous, filled up with pain,
The other is joyous with so much to gain.

Now let us turn to the matter of class,
Owning or working, what a pain in the ass.
Don't tell me about your ancestral glory,
Tell me what you have done, who you are, what's your story.

All of these distinctions are unimportant and trite.
What matters is our struggle to discover what's right.
To learn how to  love, to succeed and to fail,
To become who we are, to blaze a new trail.

So let's love each other while we're striving to grow,
To become who we are and to then let it show.
Then as brothers and sisters, accepting the past,
We face a bright future, together at last.

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