June 12, 2020–

There are those who loathe Columbus.

They would gladly tear down his statue,

were the opportunity to present itself.

I don’t at all like what he did to the First Nations

of the Caribbean and the north coast of South America.

There are those who would erase all mention

of anyone who ever owned a slave.

They would obliterate statues and monuments,

of Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe.

Locales, across the country,

would be obliged to change their names.

If it ever came to that,

I would recommend the original names

given to each place,

by the First Nations people.

I don’t at all like that people were enslaved,

or even indentured in servitude.

I think, though, that

we cannot erase our history.

I have made mistakes in my life,

some of which merely irritated

those affected, and some

which greatly discomfited

the people who were in

my life, at the time.

I will not erase myself,

I will improve, and continue.

We, as a human race.

cannot erase our past.

We can only learn from it,

and move on.