If I Were You.......

If I Were You 

And

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

“Daddy, for Christmas,

May I have a Chemistry Set ?”

“But, Baby Doll, that’s a Boy’s Toy

Chemistry’s not for you.

I’ve already thought it through

And bought you your Chatty Lucy Lou Doll

Pull her string, and she’ll Talk and Walk you

Into one Wall after another Wall after another Wall….

If I Were You

And

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

“Preacher Strict, sir,

I am a Seminarian, too

But my Hand in Answer to your Questions

Has been raised each and every time

I Have Read and Researched

And Know my Lessons well.”

“Do tell.”

“But you continue to 

OverLook me

Look Past me

And only acknowledge the Men in this classroom….”

“Young Lady, you must Know your Place.

Adam came before Eve

You are but an extension of His Rib

Your Place is Behind Men

Or Beneath Men

Or at Man’s side, Glamorous, but Silent

And wistfully Smiling

That’s what The Lord and Men

Find beguiling

And may I Add the intractable Math

Your InConsiderate and InAppropriate Actions

Of Curious Intellect

And an Eagerly waving Hand to every Question

Make you out to Be

Don’t you See

A Distraction of Subtraction

Know Your Place…..

If I Were You

And

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

Oh Child with Hungry Eyes

As Desolate and Distracted

As this Mis-Begotten

War shredded and torn Landscape

Of Rubble and Ruin

With Hands outstretched like searching Claws

Your Mother lost to a Self-Sacrificing Bomb

Your Father lost to a Robotic buzzing Drone

You have never Known

A Life of Peace

Of Ease

Of Harmony and Prosperity

Will you Grow-up

To Forever Croak out

Your Ancestors Discordant, Strident

Eternally Perpetuated 

Destructive Vengeful War Cries ?

If I Were You

And

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

That Poor Soul

With Feet dirty and bare

Lying in the gutter

Dreaming a Lost Dream

Squirming and writhing around

In his World’s Shadow-ridden

Night-Mares

Hear their hooves

A- Pounding

Hear the Drunk’s Heart and Head ReSounding

From humiliation and shame

The Blame Game

Alone and Broken

His Name Mis-Spoken

His Home ?

Hard, cold pavement and grime

Bad Luck and repetitively Questioned Choices

His Crime and Punishment

A Life 

Of Poverty and Rebuke

Forgotten and UnFinished

Reasons and Rhymes……

If I Were You 

And

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

A Child born Gay

Made miserable and UnHappy

Because no one in their World

Can or Will Tolerate him or Accept Him

As He Is

Every day the Message he receives is

“You are not Right in your Head

You are Screwed up, and down, and all around

You are an Embarrassment - an Humiliation to this Family

And everyone else in your Life and Ours

You are Damaged Goods

Can’t you See that if you really Loved and Honored

Your Family and Everyone else

You’d Straighten-up !

You’d Change !

You’re a Bad Influence on Everyone

You are a Walking and Talking Heartache

You are to Be Rejected, Dejected and Scorned

Spat upon and Made Forlorn

You’re UnDeserving

Of a Good and Whole and Happy Life

Of a good Job

Of Friends

Of Family

Don’t You See ?”

If I Were You

And You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

“But you’re the wrong Religion

You Being a part of Us

Can never Be

Your God is the wrong god

How can you not Know

My god is the Only True God

And yours is not Real

So, what’s the Deal ?

Convert, and it will Set You Free

To join our Group

Our Self-righteously, Exclusionary Colony…..

If I Were You

And 

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

“But you said that you Loved me

You took an Oath

For Richer or Poorer

In Sickness and in Health

Forever and ever, Amen….”

“Yeah, but that was Yesterday

Every Day is a New Day

And I no longer Feel that way

Sorry, about the Kids

They’ll be alright with you

But you’ll have to get a Real Job

“Cause me and my New Love

Are off for Timbuctu and Kalamazoo

So, try not to Boo-hoo

You have your whole Life in front of you

Toodle-oooo…….”

If I Were You

And 

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

“But Alliances were Formed

And Treaties were signed

Why are you pointing

Your Missiles and Nukes

At Me and Mine ?

We have shed our blood for Oil and Treasure

And our Oil for Blood Money

From Silent Corporate Partner Banks

While our Children cried out

And were mowed down by Bullets and Tanks

And all for

Power and Money shifting Lies

Rags to Riches 

And Riches to Rags

Hear the Darwinian Dogs Howling ?

Isn’t that the Great Dream

That has left us All

Clutching the Rotting Bags ?”

If I Were You

And

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

“Knock, knock, let me in

What’s wrong with the Color

Of my Skinny-skin-skin ?

The Skin I was Born Within ?

Talk to Me

Get to Know Me

I’m a lot like You

Or not so much like You

But Human, nevertheless

Stop Looking only Skin Deep

And Telling Me

Nevermore, Nevermore

You’ll never pass Our or Society’s Tests

What a Mess

Immigrants and Refugees

They’re all a part of You and Me

Please, Open the Doors of Opportunity

And offer me And all of these

An Open and Accepting Hand

Let’s Build Bridges throughout the Land…..

Wait, Where did you go ?”

If I Were You

And

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be

The Whales and Dolphins Songs

Are Transforming

To agonizing Death Wails

Human-made Experiments

Chemicals and Waste

Are bringing an End

To Flora and Fauna

Everywhere

In ever elevating Haste

Humanity is doing its Best (and Worst)

To continually Deficate

In Mother Earth’s

Overtaxed and OverCrowded Cosmological Nest….

If I Were You

And

You Were Me

For just One Day

What a different World Reality

There Might Be !