Censorship

If our screams pierce through the thick truth sharply enough,

If we erase the marks of what makes us uncomfortable,

If we cover up the footprints of where we’ve gone astray,

If we remove every book from the shelves of prejudice we’ve held,

If we destroy everyone’s name who has told a single lie,

If we knock down every hero until there is nothing to pull us from the mire,

If we refuse to know our past because it rests uncomfortably in the present,

If we refuse to discuss what has been black, white, and gray,

If we apply our 2021 vision to our history without context–

Without acknowledgement of where we once were and who we sought to be–

Can we pretend it all never happened?

Can saying we are ashamed be enough?

Can we hide behind new mass judgement?

But without an understanding of the past won’t we still be to blame?

—Written by Sandy Heights

Image by Christopher Ross from Pixabay