DIVERSITY POEM
by Ibtisam Barakat
Once upon a diversion
the word diversity
was: diver-city !
But the c got arrested . .
and now the city does not see
some of its people . .
An S has replaced the c –
STOP!
Racial profiling!
Why do we call it pro-filing
and the file is against you!
Some day the ray shall
light up the shade for all to notice:
We too are filled with magic,
daily mornings, and mystery
that sometimes, ourselves,
we do not comprehend. .
We too are filled with home
and culture. .
Diver into other cultures
is what you must become
to love this world. .
Diver city is our home ;
and we are the divers. .
Hold your breath – longer!
Hold your tongue –
until your heart has spoken!
I want the c back!
Maybe you can help me..
We can scoop its waters
and all of its drifts
with our hands . .
A new language
with a big C,
big eyes seeing all,
in the middle of the word
Diversity. .
the word diversity
was: diver-city !
But the c got arrested . .
and now the city does not see
some of its people . .
An S has replaced the c –
STOP!
Racial profiling!
Why do we call it pro-filing
and the file is against you!
Some day the ray shall
light up the shade for all to notice:
We too are filled with magic,
daily mornings, and mystery
that sometimes, ourselves,
we do not comprehend. .
We too are filled with home
and culture. .
Diver into other cultures
is what you must become
to love this world. .
Diver city is our home ;
and we are the divers. .
Hold your breath – longer!
Hold your tongue –
until your heart has spoken!
I want the c back!
Maybe you can help me..
We can scoop its waters
and all of its drifts
with our hands . .
A new language
with a big C,
big eyes seeing all,
in the middle of the word
Diversity. .
Note: Diversity poem was written during a KBIA radio show. A version of it is published on the website for the program INTERSECTIONS.Photo by Ibtisam Barakat is of street artwork (painter anonymous) near the Univ. of Columbia School of Journalism, Columbia, MO, intersection of Elm and Ninth streets.