Justice Poems
The Female Of The Species
by Rudyard Kipling
When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail,
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When Nag, the wayside cobra, hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can,
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail -
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
......
Great Are The Myths
by Walt Whitman
GREAT are the myths--I too delight in them;
Great are Adam and Eve--I too look back and accept them;
Great the risen and fallen nations, and their poets, women, sages,
inventors, rulers, warriors, and priests.
Great is Liberty! great is Equality! I am their follower;
Helmsmen of nations, choose your craft! where you sail, I sail,
I weather it out with you, or sink with you.
Great is Youth--equally great is Old Age--great are the Day and
Night;
......
Norman And Saxon
by Rudyard Kipling
My son," said the Norman Baron, "I am dying, and you will be heir
To all the broad acres in England that William gave me for my share
When we conquered the Saxon at Hastings, and a nice little handful it is.
But before you go over to rule it I want you to understand this:—
"The Saxon is not like us Normans, His manners are not so polite.
But he never means anything serious till he talks about justice and right.
When he stands like an ox in the furrow with his sullen set eyes on your own,
And grumbles, "This isn't fair dealings," my son, leave the Saxon alone.
......
A Dedication
by Robert Burns
Expect na, sir, in this narration,
A fleechin, fleth'rin Dedication,
To roose you up, an' ca' you guid,
An' sprung o' great an' noble bluid,
Because ye're surnam'd like His Grace-
Perhaps related to the race:
Then, when I'm tir'd-and sae are ye,
Wi' mony a fulsome, sinfu' lie,
Set up a face how I stop short,
For fear your modesty be hurt.
......
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
......
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.
......
