Once So Perfect, Orderly and Privileged

We must move 

onward,

because there is 

little here

worth coming back to.

Some look back

with soft, toothless 

reminiscences,

while others remember

with anger

that their world,

once so perfect, orderly

and privileged,

must be shared 

with everyone else.

If you have skin

any color but white,

or genitals other

than male,

or had a love 

that dare not 

speak its name,

what is there

for you 

in the past?

By definition,

a conservative

wants to keep things

exactly the same

as before,

and the struggle

is not in bringing 

everybody,

especially those 

originally

labeled as 

subhuman,

as chattel,

into the circle,

sharing in 

the bounty.

No, the struggle

is to convince

the owners

of the wall 

to dismantle it,

before we 

tear it down.