I was going to wait to post this, but with everything going on in Canada and the U.S. these days, I felt I had to say something. I realize not everyone might agree with my beliefs. I can’t ask them to. All I am saying is, I do not owe it to anyone to ignore racism, sexism, bigotry or blatant disregard for the environment or all life within it.
The first part of this poem has been submitted to a contest, and the rules prohibit me from publishing it before the judging takes place but I will share it when I can.
I Do Not Owe You- II
I do not owe it to you
to remain complacent
To care more about the size of my waist and the colour of my hair
Than the injustices of the world
To sit in front of a screen for hours without taking notice of the chaos around me
I will not forget about the Indigenous People and the young women who have disappeared without a trace
Who is going to do something about this?
I want to know!
Or do only certain people matter?
I will not ignore their pleas for inclusion and representation as you make plans to ravage more of their sacred lands
You ignore the true history of the colonized nations
The erasure of culture and tradition
Residential schools
Their only purpose was to eradicate what was left of the Native Spirit
Steal all of the land and then pat yourselves on the back for returning small pieces of it
The serpent spreads like a disease through the soil
Seeping poison into the waters
Your phony apology disappearing beneath the bitumen
And I’m supposed to agree with you?
I do not owe that to you
Your monstrous machines create scars upon the Earth for the sake of your so-called progress
You say to protest against you is selfish and radical
You say it is the same as protesting the good will of our fellow citizens
And your supporters believe you
They breathe fiery hatred at environmental advocates that are fighting to protect the future for us all
To protect the Earth that we all rely on
And for their fight and their passion they are punished
You put them in handcuffs as they ask you to consider the next generations and to understand
That water is life
I do not owe it to you to tell people of colour that they are over-reacting when they fight for their rights
I will not shout at them “stand for the anthem or pay the price!”
and go back to watching reality TV
NO!
They deserve to work, study and live without the constant fear of racial divide
Those who shoot first and make excuses later
Hooded monsters lurking the streets for young black children to make an example of
I won’t roll my eyes when they say
“BLACK LIVES MATTER!”
And I won’t scoff at the beads of sweat on terrorized faces
As they attempt to survive day to day life
Asking directions
Playing golf
Reaching for a cell phone
Singing praise in a church
Is no place sacred to you?
I cannot be nonchalant about the nearly 1500 missing children
I challenge you to explain to me
How exactly do that many children, who were supposed to be in your custody, just vanish?
Ripped from the arms of their guardians and held for ransom
BUILD THAT WALL! you shout
And these atrocities will end
You say it is justified as you point to your bible
Well sir, I will not condone a bible that would justify this abuse of human rights
I do not owe it to you
To lock them out
To lock myself in
To trust you to do the right thing
Not if you can honestly say
That tearing children away from their parents is what is right and what is just
I do not owe it to you to chant in unison
“TERRORIST! TERRORIST!”
At refugees fleeing a conflict
That you helped create
The piles of dead babies washing up on shore
The mothers and fathers in agony over the impossible choices that they face
All the while, you sit safely in your lounge chair, reveling in your bigotry
I do not owe it to you to forget that there are other people in the world
people of all shapes, sizes, and colours
because nature is an artist
and I do not owe it to you
to forget that they are affected by your decisions
What I owe is to them
That is my pledge of solidarity
My pledge to forgo complacency
To stand up and do something
To never forget what has happened
And to never allow it to happen again
I do not owe it to you
I owe it to them
©Chantal Shanks 2018
