DEI

("Multiculturalism Merit Badge", 2010, original oil) DEI Skin color is literally skin deep, Of course race means a lot more - For anatomy and physiology, Our emotional and mental characteristics, But that is all deeper than a color. To focus on just skin Misses all that is beneath All that is within, And THAT is called an individual; You, me, and us. Why would we ever give that up To be just a member of a group, A face in the crowd A number in a quota? It’s a coward’s game to hide one’s face And yet every day I still see someone wearing a mask At the grocery store, at the post office, And I wonder, what’s wrong with them, And what illness are they so considerately Protecting us from… (6/23/24)