Justice Poems
The British
by Benjamin Zephaniah
Take some Picts, Celts and Silures
And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.
Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.
Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
......
For Whom The Bell Tolls
by John Donne
PERCHANCE he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he
knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so
much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my
state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that. The
church is Catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she
does belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action
concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that body which
is my head too, and ingrafted into that body whereof I am a member.
And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is
of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is
......
The Sycamores
by John Greenleaf Whittier
In the outskirts of the village
On the river's winding shores
Stand the Occidental plane-trees,
Stand the ancient sycamores.
One long century hath been numbered,
And another half-way told
Since the rustic Irish gleeman
Broke for them the virgin mould.
......
Ch 01 Manner Of Kings Story 22
by Saadi Shirazi
A king was subject to a terrible disease, the mention of which is not sanctioned by custom. The tribe of Yunani physicians agreed that this pain cannot be allayed except by means of the bile of a person endued with certain qualities. Orders having been issued to search for an individual of this kind, the son of a landholder was discovered to possess the qualities mentioned by the doctors. The king summoned the father and mother of the boy whose consent he obtained by giving them immense wealth. The qazi issued a judicial decree that it is permissible to shed the blood of one subject for the safety of the king and the executioner was ready to slay the boy who then looked heavenwards and smiled. The king asked: "What occasion for laughter is there in such a position?" The youth replied: "A son looks to the affection of his father and mother to bring his case before the qazi and to ask justice from the padshah. In the present instance, however, the father and mother have for the trash of this world surrendered my blood, the qazi has issued a decree to kill me, the sultan thinks he will recover his health only through my destruction and I see no other refuge besides God the most high."
To whom shall I complain against thy hand
If I am to seek justice also from thy hand?
The sultan became troubled at these words, tears rushed to his eyes and he said: "It is better for me to perish than to shed innocent blood." He kissed the head and eyes of the youth, presented him with boundless wealth and it is said that the king also recovered his health during that week.
I also remember the distich recited
By the elephant-driver on the bank of the Nile:
"If thou knewest the state of the ant under thy foot
......
To -
by Charles Harpur
“Who would not be a poet?” thus I read
In thy proud sonnet, my poetic friend;
And unto this my full assent was given:
“There is not, cannot be, under all heaven,
Aught happier in itself than the witch, poetry.”
But “Who’d not be a poet?” here I pause
Forebodingly, my poet-friend,—because
“To see all beauty with his gifted sight,”
To love, like him, with all the soul,
To be, when life is morning-bright
......
Walking
by Jonathan Goff
They walk in darkness
Begging to see
Their voices rise
Hungry to be seen
Invisible people
Still have
Hearts / Beating / Rhythm
Under the weight
of the waiting–
But always,
......
Stand Like A Tree
by Md. Kausar Uddin Ahmed
If you stand for a reason,
Be ready to stand alone.
Like a tree,
Rooted deep,
Even when the wind mocks,
Even when the birds leave,
Even when shadows grow longer
And the soil beneath you turns cold.
Because truth
......
What Is Scary About W O R D S
by Jim Kelly
Ear pain—
invisible
When heard.
Quietly read,
Its title hides
In public—
so as not to offend
The fragility of the powerful.
......
The Rawness of Denial- 1620-2025
by Jim Kelly
I speak to those in denial, whether by innocence or intention.
Denial is like an open, raw infection from a 1620s human cargo sailing ship.
The rawness of Americans’ skin was never treated, and the wound never healed.
Our collective and institutional ancestry suffers from this denial.
An untreated wound poisons all of our veins.*
Acceptance
Acknowledgment
......
Ik teken bezwaar aan
by Mario Odekerken
Ik taken bezwaar aan,met inkt en met stem,
tegen de stilte die klinkt als een luid systeem.
Tegen regels die knellen papier dat niet luistert,
en dromen die sterven waar niemand fluistert.
Ik teken bezwaar aan,met hart en verstand,
voor recht dat niet buigt naar de macht van de rand.
Voor woorden die wegen,maar nooit zijn gehoord,
voor mensen gebogen door kil ambtelijk woord.
......
