Poetry Without Prejudice
An intro and antidote to antisemitism
Some faulty lots, while we progress,
take stubborn steps
toward knowlessness —
recycled tropes by misanthropes
with false malignment
claims, no less
From deicide to thrift
and greed
these myths persist
in speech and screed
Disloyalty and power plays
are still ascribed to us today
Through pogroms,
exile, genocide
the Jews have suffered
worldwide
and yet the lies do not retire
persisting in their blinded ire
A tragic, twisted fantasy
that rouses old conspiracies
in bursts of words
each one absurd
and poisonous as Zyklon B
The public posts of racist rants
form torches
passed to miscreants
who, angered by the tales they hear,
make scapegoats pay
with death and chants
Apologists then say, “Harrumph!”
and schools ban Maus
but not Mein Kampf
while swastikas
appear in tweets,
on temple walls and city streets
Amid the harmful, dogged bait
I write these words
to counter hate
For persecution needs to croak
not just for Jews
but every folk
With tons of facts
and research free
why linger in acridity
or hatred
born of ignorance
and biased comorbidity?
Instead of faceless, base attacks
let’s meet at truth —
a second act —
sat face-to-face
in common space
discovering the facts we lack
What might an antisemite do
encountering a real-life Jew?
Instead of clashing
have a chat
Be curious
and listen, too
We all can grow
by sitting “with”
and chipping at the monolith
that lashes people
to a group
dismissible in one fell swoop
We’ll talk of ways that may be best
to break the chain of the oppressed —
denounce deniers
learn what’s real
to understand, expand and feel
Find tolerance and family
through freedom from the scorn story
Let’s break some bread
and toast our home
Until we meet
I’ll say, “Shalom.”
—
Don’t perpetuate. Educate. Learn about myths and mitigation at https://antisemitism.adl.org/
