March 21, 2008

Primates Afterall - An Ode to all that's 'Human'


You may not hear it
or see it
but when shrapnel tears your guts
you sure do feel it
You may not call it hatred but...
it can still be it!

You don't condone it
rarely display it
but when a Simpson gets acquitted after double murder
you could resent it
Judge Ito did not call this crime of passion but...
it can still be it!


You may not fear it
or regret it
but at the bulleted Buddhas in Bamiyan
you wondered at it
Politically incorrect to call it ignorance but...
it can still be it!

You don't talk about it
or sometimes ignore it
but when a Katrina happens
you do behold it
Bushes of the world wouldn't term it racism but...
it can still be it!

You may try to hide it
desperately deny it
but when Charles spurned a Diana in favor of a Bowles
you did witness it
decried by all as love forbidden but...
it can still be it!

The natural instincts of man,
every now and again,
do surface to pain.
Much to the chagrin of our moral police
where instinct is taboo
and acquired behavior reigns!

Too evolved to call ourselves human but...
we are still it!

8 comments:

milieu said...

Nice even if sad poem. We are all humans after all. But hope learning from mistakes and doing better next time should also be part of being human.

Anonymous said...

We can hate wars and violence but that according to you is to be human? Are you defending the heinous acts of men by labeling them human?

Nandi23 said...

Seems as if the ability to just be wicked and discriminate without thought is a characteristic trait.

How do we know said...

this is so very nice! and so very true!

crumbs said...

quite a tight punch you are throwing at the face of all those who laugh at innocence, and naively assume that hate will go away if you ignore it long enough.

really powerfully written poem :)

Anonymous said...

i really like this poem because despite all the "humanness" you describe, there seems to be a pride in humanity that underlies the entire poem. really nice.
-SR

Id it is said...

SR
Thank you; incredible though it may sound, but that was my very intent!

Talking of pride; you should be very proud of having gotten that fellowship at Columbia! That is some achievement!

txandi prost said...

brilliantly thought provoking. thank you.~t~