Don’t You Remember?

 

 

Remember when I robbed you

And I took away your wealth

And did it in such a way

That I even ruined your health?

 

I discovered what you discovered

Though you long before I

But you had no documents

And they accepted my lie.

 

At that time, you did not matter

For you were a nobody

And I was seen all around

As somebody.

 

I not only robbed you

But I raped you too

And by severing your family ties

I decimated you.

 

It was so bad

That today you still depend on me

Hoping I would give you back

Your true identity.

 

I took your land

And all the wealth you had

And promised you a better life

If you were not bad.

 

All that I now have

Originally belonged to you,

I pay you out of your own wealth;

That is what I do.

 

I possessed you

And enslaved you

And to this very day

I still shape your view.

 

 

Your call for reparation

Will only fall on deaf ears,

What little conscience I had

Has gone with the years.

 

There is severe infighting;

That is what I see

And this is far more detrimental

Than your fight with me.

 

You can’t stand each other

Whom you daily destroy

As you seek to rise higher

In my employ.

 

Your dreams are short lived

And selfishly inclined,

Though not physically shackled

You are in the mind.

 

Together you can soar

But divided you are sinking

And more than ever I realize

I also took your thinking.

 

No doubt you now remember

But what is your intent?

You daily destroy one another

As though this is your bent.

 

Stewart Russell © August 3, 2022