Poetry/Poems · Uncategorized

Closing the gap…

jacquelineobyikocha

 

They called it an ugly name

They called it Slave trade

It was man’s inhumanity to fellow man

An injustice that took so many and destroyed the human spirit

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They called  it by a fancy name

They called it The Holocaust

A horrific history

Of the evil machinations of men

*********

They called it by a fancy name

They called it apartheid

It was the great divide

That was strictly applied

*********

They gave it a fancy name

They called it genocide

It was monstrous and intensified

An attempt to cast aside and to nullify

**********

They have given it a fancy name

It is called racism

Which is just a term applied

To subjugate and sub-divide

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Each of these fancy names

Has created huge gulfs

Among the human race

That leaves us mortified

********

How do we ever bridge

This great divide?

For the bridge across

Is a long, treacherous walk away from home.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

The Daily Post Prompt Divide.

 

 

Published by jacquelineobyikocha

A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, an eager mind and a burning desire to carve out tales. As I journey with my muse to that land of all possibilities and self discovery, I hope my personal evolution will serve as a beacon of inspiration for anyone who chooses to stop by.

69 thoughts on “Closing the gap…”

  3. Your words are food for thought. I wish I had some answers. All I can do is to be understanding of and with people who are a different race, religion, ethnic group or faith. We can start by seeing people as individuals not stereotypes.

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  5. Language is a blessing and a curse, depending on how it is wielded. Splendid piece that expresses such a sentiment. As eloquently end “For the bridge across / Is a long, treacherous walk away from home.” — people tend to seek comfort, to venture without assurances of success. we have been able to make positive strides in this world when people have struggled for the long haul. How to motivate people to take such a journey of blood, sweat and tears, when they can’t personally grasp any personal reward (unfortunately the rewards sought are more comfort, more money, more material gains)? If only we can figure that one out.

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      1. The rich get richer…yet people still vote against their own interests, etc. People suffer, and yet for so many they can’t see who it is that is whacking them, believing who they are told is the “enemy” such as immigrants or those other poor people in that other neighborhood or that other religious group, etc etc

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  7. None of those names rightly depicts the reality they cover and categorize to be tucked safely, in the past whilst most cover their eyes and deny the present horrors. The truth of today is the slave-trade is at an all-time high, while our leaders (some of whom I suspect gain by it’s proceeds)make grand speeches about slavery in the past, while patting backs in celebration of our collective evolution. Those who’ve suffered sorely from racism in the past and present can’t wait to play that same card against their enemies while seeking revenge instead of healing. Genocide is a horror taking place daily in a country near you, near us all. If we want to end the atrocities of the past, we have to know history but we can’t use that history to make ourselves feel superior to those who failed back then. It doesn’t serve altruism to cry for victims long dead. We have to use the lessons from history and use them to view the current landscape and also, to predict future events because truthfully, human beings never change and we repeat the same awful behaviors over and over. We ignore painful realities by practicing denial and then reality comes crashing down around our ears. We have to take action and do what we can to love other people with the upmost respect for God, ourselves, and others. Denial is willful ignorance and ignorance is cruel.

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    1. Pam, you should write a book and I mean every single word of it. In this summary, you have nailed so many issues and the sad thing is that the past is repeating itself daily in our faces and yet nothing happens. Human trafficking is alive and breathing.The fruits of racism is uncountable. Genocide is a constant. Apartheid exists even as we speak and we are in a state of denial. It really hurts to see these things which is why sometimes, I won’t turn on the TV for weeks so that I can know some peace.

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      1. I live a few hundred miles from our border with Mexico. 100,000 people have been murdered in Northern Mexico in the last ten years in that war over trade-routes into the U.S. That doesn’t include the deaths of those who die in the desert when they succumb to the desert, or are tortured and then murdered by those traffickers they pay to see them safely, into the U.S. That doesn’t include the people who are dead on this side because of the crime that accompanies the traffickers or the deaths from consuming their wares. Yet, when I do turn on the news magically, all of these dead bodies have been transformed into political footballs used to confuse us and manipulate us into feeling helpless. They are used to divide us so those routes are protected under the rule of chaos. If I say I want legal immigration, I immediately labeled a racist. What I never get to say is I see those poor immigrants desperately, trying to escape as my brothers and sisters and I know I might be the next desperate immigrant. Their enemy is my enemy and that enemy is corruption in high places. I think Jacqueline that we are very late into this mess and the monster will have to fall under its own weight. We can’t hide under the bed and do nothing but we have to acknowledge our limits. It’s very easy to be overwhelmed especially, when the Beast is knocking on your door. We have to stay focused on God, not give up, and allow Him to guide our individual steps as judgment falls. These aren’t good times but they will pass and a better Day lies ahead.(((((hugs)))))))

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      5. They’re lost. As my Appalachian husband says, “They’re as lost as a goose in a blizzard.” The best way for the people to end corruption is to starve it out by living moral lives and then, praying for the lost no matter what their station in life.

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  9. wow powerful post about the sad facts of our history and present day reality. There are other fancy names out there doing harm and we must do our part to stamp it out and protect those they mean to harm.

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      1. yeah and we’ve got a three ring circus going on here right now. I mean really? Donald Trump for president? The guy who builds new things and never rehabs anything he built in the past. The guy who’s backed by people who are on the other side of that bridge in your poem pretending it isnt there because none of the folks harmed by those fancy words were like them? Just put the US in a basket and mail it to hell if he gets into the white house because that’s where the country’s going and it’s sad.

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  10. Hi Jackie,

    Oh! All of these things are the foundations of most of the world’s problems, issues deeply rooted in acts of hatred and segregation. It’s like there are invisible lines demarcating each of us from a spirit of pure love for our fellow humans.

    This mindset of superiority complex- “My religion is better” “My race is better” “My tribe is better” has pulled us apart in ways that even political correctness cannot properly.

    Like you, I also pray for a bridge that will close the gap.

    Beautifully written with depth and so thought-provoking. Well done!

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    1. Nedoux my dear, you spoke the truth. These things are so underlying in the breathe that we take each day even if they are silent. Until we come to realize that all human are the same and stop the segregation and divisive wedges, my dear, the past will only be mild history. Man has a penchant of repeating himself! Thank you

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  11. Hi Jackie,

    Oh! All of these things are the foundations of most of the world’s problems, issues deeply rooted in acts of hatred and segregation. It’s like there are invisible lines demarcating each of us from a spirit of pure love for our fellow humans.

    This mindset of superiority complex- “My religion is better” “My race is better” “My tribe is better” has pulled us apart in ways that even political correctness cannot properly fix.

    Like you, I also pray for a bridge that will close the gap.

    Beautifully written with depth and so thought-provoking. Well done!

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  19. You have compiled most horrific thoughts under the guise of fancy names. Isn’t it amazing how man tries to cover up the ugliness of sin with platitudes and excuses?. We will never be free of this malady until Christ returns to judge the world. Sin is ugly no matter what form it takes. My prayer is that we might learn from our past, but I fear we grow further away from the truth. As prayer warriors it’s our responsibility to ask God for forgiveness and return to Him as a world and nation. Thanks for a most insightful post.

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  20. Quite powerful to be confronted with all those ‘fancy names’ in one place. I like the way you did it–a gentle tap from a huge horrific reality of past and present.

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  21. I’ve found being genuine always helps people relate. If you aren’t trying to be someone you’re not, people respect that.

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      1. Probably cause it still needs time and I don’t have much. It’s fine, I don’t know that I’m ready to have much of a readership. Still searching for my voice a little;)

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    1. That bridge may be a long, treacherous walk away from home – yet it is not far away from our lifes – if we stand firm against any kin and kind of new uprisings, as we are experiencing it just these days (elections ahead) in Germany …

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I love it when you decorate my heart with your words..