My character’s name is irrelevant
To my tale; it’s a tale with a moral
I place George as a British person
Living in Nazi Germany, at the time
Time of the book burnings, massive
displays of foolishness and intolerance
And naked power. There’s a line from a book
I cannot find, that describes how George
Witnessing this desecration quietly celebrates
That he has seen his enemy; he has seen their
Behaviour; he is sickened and disgusted
You might think this strange, unrelated
With the conservative urge to ban and burn
It is a warning of where their behaviour is going
Ban and burn, ban and burn; has a beat to it
History already has heard that beat, it begins with books
And ends with people, getting banned, banished and burnt
In America? Not yet. Give it time. Will you, like George
Feel sickened, celebrate and say “I see my enemy”
When you see a family member or a next-door neighbour
You can wait if you like; dip into your “thoughts and prayers”
(who are you praying to, if praying is the correct verb?
“Preying” is more like it.). Do what all good gunmen do
Kill children, shoot up schools. So I ask you, what will you do?
Will you, like George, feel sickened, celebrate and say
“I see my enemy” when you can look into a mirror, see yourself
a family member, a next-door neighbour or a local politician?
Can you? It takes courage, it’s not for the frightened and the fearful
by Leslie D. Bush
© 26 May 2022
Local Otautahi/Christchurch poet, Leslie D. Bush, says this about himself:
"My name is Leslie Bush. I live in Christchurch, New Zealand. I was born here. Apart from a 34-year interval in Auckland; here I am and here I will remain. My love of language is eternal. My love of reading goes back to childhood and my writing poems goes back to my youth. Life is poetry; poetry is life. I am a Poet, not just any poet; by nurture and nature; by the fickle finger of fate; by the perversities of chaos, chance and choice; I am unique."
very good Leslie
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