WHAT REALLY IS CIVILIZATION?
I was beaten in school
for speaking Themne
my own tongue
a melody they called a wrong note.
I ran to my father for comfort
but he looked away
called me foolish
for not knowing the world had changed.
I knelt beneath the old tree
offering thanks for rain and harvest
they said I was lost
praying to shadows and myths.
I wore my lion skin with pride
feet firm in Crocs-hide sandals
they mocked my walk
said I was wild, uncivilized.
But what truly is civilization?
Is it silencing my mother’s voice?
Replacing gods with shame?
Or disguising erasure as progress?
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