(“Multiculturalism Merit Badge”, 2010, original
Oil)
Unhumans
When I was young I was taught to respect all humans
And I was taught to identify humans
By their appearance, whether they looked like me,
Regardless of sex or race, age, size or style.
But I think I was taught wrong.
I think there are in fact a lot of unhumans amongst us
Really not even pretending to be human.
Human means something more
Than our physical form.
It means something elevated
From the bulk of other animals.
Perhaps it even means something you have to grow into
Instead of just being born into.
Today anyone who seeks to enslave others,
Or wantonly abuse and harm them,
Or can’t respond with human concern
To the injustices we see around us everyday,
Is just an animal,
And animals like this don’t deserve human rights.
We make the assumption that if you look like a human
You must be a human,
But what this does isn’t lift the unhumans up,
It just drags the humans down.
(9/9/25)
(“Multiculturalism Merit Badge”, 2010, original oil)
Unsolicited
Yesterday I called my daughter
To give unsolicited parenting advice.
She listened and heard me
And even thanked me after,
But then I went away
Wondering who am I to give advice
And how does my experience as a child
Compare to my daughter’s kid's today.
It’s really two different worlds
Of different values, pressures and expectations.
In our talk these key words of parenting arose;
Love, fairness, patience
And something more elusive,
Maybe even you could say the Holy Grail
Of parenting, equanimity,
That quality of dispassionate composure
Especially in the face of stress.
And maybe this is what makes me feel
My advice rings hollow
And so better left unsaid.
If we don’t embody the lessons we teach
What use are they,
And if we embody them,
What need for them to be even given.
(9/2/25)
("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)
I want to write about peace!
I want to write about multiculturalism!
I want to write about fairness!
I want to write about love!
BUT…
If it’s not good enough the verse that I say?
If it provokes no thought, then please walk away.
If they’re not good enough the thoughts spoken from my mouth?
Then please return to the MADNESS and drown out the sound.
Yes, I realize Paris is just
magic when night falls...
Vienna is a mysterious dream
in the obscure night...
New York city is multiculturalism. !
Rio is wonderful
in light or dark...
But my place is
prettier anytime!
I love people
from all over the world...
I'm frankly
cosmopolitan...
But above all,
I'm movingly
Paraiba... !
All breathing
hearted
living sacred creations
are born of white light
and red power,
Of empowering transparent ecstasy
and vulnerably impassioned fire,
Of triumphant wind
radiantly communing spring tease
and slow burning
Earth-rooted
desire
To restore life-giving powers
of just-right lust for co-passions,
and to illuminate life/death
impassioned powers,
healthy white light polypathic
wealthy red powers co-empathic,
Born of illuminating sacred light
reborn of Taoist
NonZero Sum soul
empowering transparent ecstasy
and co-passioned fire
Yang white light
and Yintegral non-violent red fertile powers
ecofeminist conductive
inductive
seductive fired passions.
Revolving Earth knows
from ancient sense-sexual
life experience
That we,
as global EarthTribe regenerators,
do simultaneously experience
seasons of summer north
and winter south,
That we do
already know
and financially appreciate
dualistic capitalism West
and nondualistic Both/And communion
ancient indigenous East multiculturalism,
That we are
already bicameral
Either/Or deductive Left bipolar hemispheric
and Both/And inductive Right dipolar spheric,
That triangulation
of health care choices,
win/win
win/lose
lose/lose
has many warm and healthy,
safe and wealthy,
therapeutic empowering
enlightening systemic voices.
Brexit Sonnet No.7
‘Words Escape Me’
Have you seen them, can we track them down?
Words escape me, on the run, or lost.
We had them once, now they can’t be found,
This Brexit friction hides a fearsome cost.
Pluralism can’t be seen or traced,
I’ve looked real hard but not a sign from May.
Binarism has won that crucial, crazy race,
Whilst Tolerance, my once best friend has gone away.
What of Inspire, our fine Olympic friend?
He was there to share that great event,
But now, Falsehood’s beat him on the bend,
And where was Multiculturalism sent?
Camerooned we are, left to shout ‘In’ or ‘Out’,
Our Language, Culture, Country – now in doubt.
©Keith Murphy
War in the Cities
I saw on TV a program about Paris it looked like a city under siege,
soldiers everywhere just like when it was occupied by the Germans
and Nazi soldiers patrolled the streets.
There are a fifth army blowing people up; most of them are of Arabic
background, they hate the French way, smoking, dance and wine,
good food and their lack of godliness.
The fifth columnists have won Paris is no longer a place to live; how it
came to this I don`t care to now, although I must say multiculturalism
is not feasible, not in Paris, not anywhere you see a minaret.