Short Generalize Poems

We are at war with each other.
The battles we fight are not helping anyone;
no justice, no progress, just dividing among the masses.
we'll both lose eventually and horrifically,   
we need to assist and show compassion to each other
rather than hating and generalize one another 
being criticized doesn't mean being hateful,
being hateful doesn't mean being critical. 
We only have each other and
no one else is going to help...

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never smoke she said,
cigarette dangling from her mouth.
ashes falling into my oatmeal
I nodded my head, dutifully.

always tell the truth, he said,
he called in sick to his boss,
we went to the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.

don't ever gossip, said my grandma.
before telling us all the rumors she had ever heard
about the neighbors.

never generalize people, Uncle Louie said,
unless they are Irish, English, or Swedes.
You cannot trust any of them....

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Are you a Halloween cat? I queried the preening feline.
Don’t generalize all black cats she said with a sniff and a whine.
I was shocked because surely she knew about the teeny witches.
Who were holding up her ears on broomsticks with snitches.

But I thought, I began to say, apologizing for stereotyping.
She began to laugh then, saying “I was only snipping.”
I was not laughing though, for I did not know her at all.
Of course, I will certainly avoid her when I see her next fall....

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