The Mark of Cain

Dare I chide you my child For playing in the moonlight With the children of those I know Despise my kind and kin folks? Dare chide you my child For daring to put aside deep seated wounds I felt Grievances of generations past and present? Dare I chide you my child For mingling without fear With those who, time after time, Try to carve the mark of Cain on my face? Dare I chide you my child For trusting in the infinite goodness of man, That sustains us in the most difficult of times, And gives us hope when all seems lost? I have taught you To see goodness in everyone. So ignore my fears my child, For even when goodness titters on the edge, As evil nudges it towards the precipice, Many hands reach out to sprinkle the wings of justice And goodness does, once again, Soar to its rightful place of safety. And the mark of Cain, Carved on my face with infinite care, Fades away with painful memories Of the legacies of a people's miseries. And it has,.........on this memorable day Inspired by Chinua Achebe's "Vultures"