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On The Bus
Contributed by
lydthon15
on
Thursday, 18th August 2016 @ 02:40:32 PM in AEST
Topic:
Lifepoems
|
An old lady asks me for money.
I tell her I have none.
Her glare pokes needles into my neck
I say I//'//m sorry,
I should have told her she wasn//'//t my grandmother,
That I didn//'//t owe it to her to take care of her.
I should have told her I honestly had no money.
I//'//ve tried to hard not to appear angry.
And I guess I//'//ve gotten used to other people speaking for me.
I see a black boy in the back of the bus hollering at
a girl who says she has a boyfriend.
He says it doesn//'//t matter and then says it again with profanity
when the girl//'//s mother tells him off.
Some of the white passengers watch this play out
but they don//'//t see a black boy. They see every black person.
They see me.
I want to tell the boy to shut up, that I don//'//t want to time travel.
I don//'//t want to go back to when no one knew who Rosa Parks was.
When we were considered troublemakers in the back of the bus.
I want to tell him that he is the reason why bus drivers look towards me
when someone accidentally makes the bus stop.
But I say nothing because he has already spoken for me.
He//'//s already spoken for all of us.
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lydthon15
... [
2016-08-18 14:40:32]
(Date/Time posted on
site)
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Re: On The Bus
(User Rating: 1 )
by Former_Member on
Friday, 19th August 2016 @ 02:13:47 AM AEST
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a Message)
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interesting story, I am glad you shared it.
I would call it a poem about the absurdity of the monolith
that does not in reality exist.
nobody who acts bad acts bad for an entire race or an entire religion or an entire sex or an entire sexual orientation
A bad dictator in a socialistic country does not act for the idea of democratic socialism that does not detract from free trade and capitalism or innovation
least not at all from science. the nuclear bomb
the understanding of genes and DNA
or the color of ones skin or the way one speaks
with perhaps an accent
when a white kid shoots up a church or a grown white man shoots at some innocent black teens in a car
killing one, are all white people that bad
but does anybody have to pull out a measuring stick
every time something happens for some comparison
but then there is always the side of things
and ignorance
a lot of ignorance a whole lot
Peace!
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Re: On The Bus
(User Rating: 1 )
by xHeathenx on
Friday, 19th August 2016 @ 08:10:02 AM AEST
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This took me by surprise, given the first time the line "already speaking for me", as I couldn/'/t fit anything to make sense of it, but then it all came together. What really strikes me about this, is two conundrums or dilemmas in one. The first, that part of our self and our life or our personality, that we need to move past, over-encumbering humility, and unwarranted pity or forced generosity, as while they each have their own good them, their being with an inner reluctance, soils the reason for the deed or behavior, and further weakens us over time. That/'/s actually something I/'/m trying to get the hang of working I presently in my own life, so I appreciate seeing it here.
The second part of it, has both truth and misconception to it, depending on context and perspective, and I respect the idea of "truth" being different and relative to every perspective.
It/'/s true that some people unfortunately, are so rash in judgment, petty in interaction, and so eagerly looking for a set of individuals to scorn and blame or redirect their discontent upon, and in many places of this world, that/'/s exactly what/'/s happened towards black people. The misconception though, is the fact that some of us, look past an identity characteristic as an identity in and of itself, and see him as an individual.
However, I think the reason this particular "character" is always so often represented as being immediately hostile is because the act isn/'/t about trying to pick the girl up, but make her feel uncomfortable, and by way of which, hold power over another person. You could speak out and say something as simple as "Yo, she ain/'/t interested." Or "Knock it off dude." Even including "you/'/re weirding her out", and either way it/'/s either a legitimate challenge, or a perceived challenge to his power, or usurped "authority" in his eyes. Long story short, there/'/s gonna be a fight.
Nice write! Very thought provoking :D |
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