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A Poem
By Matt Spencer
History
“We can’t re-write our history
Just ‘cos people say we should!”
No, we can’t re-right our history,
Paint the bad in shades of good.
We can’t un-racist leaders,
Or erase their chequered pasts,
We can’t re-write their speeches,
For the pain they caused still lasts.
We can’t turn back the hands of time
And choose a kinder path.
We can’t undo the things
That make some cry and others laugh.
We can’t re-write the stories
Filled with violence and death,
Of the ones who sang of freedom
As they breathed their final breath.
And we can’t re-write the mind-set
Of the bigoted and proud,
Who are deafened to injustice,
Because privilege is loud.
History’s written by the victors,
But it is a losing game
If it celebrates the victories
And whitewashes the shame.
No, we can’t re-write our history,
Though for centuries we’ve tried,
Turning flawed men into heroes
In the name of national pride.
No, we can’t re-write our history;
It has been and it has gone,
And its legacy is lasting
And may never be undone.
But we can choose who we venerate
And celebrate, and how.
And we choose who is remembered
In the painful here and now.
And we can rename the places
That ensure their legacy,
And we can remove the monuments
That give them dignity.
And we can make reparations
To address financial cost
For the cities built on plunder
Which entire nations lost.
Yes, we can embrace equality,
Diversity and love.
And we can be clear that justice
Is a mandate from above.
So, while history is written,
And the clock cannot turn back,
There are lessons it can teach us
Of the qualities we lack.
There are names that could be lauded,
There are stories to be told,
Of the ones, whose contributions
Far exceeded stolen gold.
Of the ones not carved in marble,
Lifted high for all to see,
Of the ones, whose names aren’t written
Above streets and libraries.
We don’t need to re-write history,
We just need to turn the light
So the faces it illuminates
Are those who stood for right.
Matt Spencer © 2020
Just ‘cos people say we should!”
No, we can’t re-right our history,
Paint the bad in shades of good.
We can’t un-racist leaders,
Or erase their chequered pasts,
We can’t re-write their speeches,
For the pain they caused still lasts.
We can’t turn back the hands of time
And choose a kinder path.
We can’t undo the things
That make some cry and others laugh.
We can’t re-write the stories
Filled with violence and death,
Of the ones who sang of freedom
As they breathed their final breath.
And we can’t re-write the mind-set
Of the bigoted and proud,
Who are deafened to injustice,
Because privilege is loud.
History’s written by the victors,
But it is a losing game
If it celebrates the victories
And whitewashes the shame.
No, we can’t re-write our history,
Though for centuries we’ve tried,
Turning flawed men into heroes
In the name of national pride.
No, we can’t re-write our history;
It has been and it has gone,
And its legacy is lasting
And may never be undone.
But we can choose who we venerate
And celebrate, and how.
And we choose who is remembered
In the painful here and now.
And we can rename the places
That ensure their legacy,
And we can remove the monuments
That give them dignity.
And we can make reparations
To address financial cost
For the cities built on plunder
Which entire nations lost.
Yes, we can embrace equality,
Diversity and love.
And we can be clear that justice
Is a mandate from above.
So, while history is written,
And the clock cannot turn back,
There are lessons it can teach us
Of the qualities we lack.
There are names that could be lauded,
There are stories to be told,
Of the ones, whose contributions
Far exceeded stolen gold.
Of the ones not carved in marble,
Lifted high for all to see,
Of the ones, whose names aren’t written
Above streets and libraries.
We don’t need to re-write history,
We just need to turn the light
So the faces it illuminates
Are those who stood for right.
Matt Spencer © 2020
Note: This series of 'Pause for Thought' started on Monday 4th May. To find these previous thoughts go to the Archive section of the website listed under the 'more.....' tab at the top of the page. On the 'Daily Pause for Thought' section of the website we will only keep 2 weeks of contributions before putting them into the Archive.
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