(Source: Google free images)
In my poem below, I try to come to terms with the concept of superiority some cultural entities feel entitled to exert over others. The mainstream culture of my country of birth country was no exception – one of considerable dominance, in the world of the recent past, in particular. The perspective I adopted for my poetic attempt here, however, is of universal concern – as I perceived it then and perceive it now.
exclusive memberships
it’s a learned thing
nothing to be proud of, if gone awry
and as time is an esteemed witness
these matters too often go amiss
parents, grandparents, great grandparents lead the way
they don’t want us to ever go astray
as fast as the revolving door can sway
they scatter us all on a multi-tiered tray
we thus journey as scattered selves into which we are made
though we return to our source as the one that we are meant
“our culture is extraordinary,” has always been the firm claim,
“learn our rich heritage, live up to its age-old fame,
wear your ethnic pride always all over your untainted build,
have the inferior assume the massacres’ guilt blame and shame”
it’s a learned thing
nothing to be proud of, if gone awry
and as time is an esteemed witness
these matters too often go amiss
(Source: Forestwander.com)
This poem is one of my three contributions for the February 2015 issue of The Year of the Poet, a monthly book series published by Inner Child Press, Ltd.
hülyaswritings 