Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

Ode to the Forgotten

Today brings mixed feelings
Of gratitude and regret
Joy and somnolence
Hypocrisy regarding
The land on which we step

The colonizer archetype is more
Than just a caricature or trope
To those whose lives were destroyed
Without the slightest hint of remorse

We may try to make amends
And refer to McKinley
By its rightful name of Denali
But that will never rewrite
The blood-stained history
Leaving its indelible mark
On our collective identity

Beneath our shroud of ignorance
This charade of pretense
Lie our truths
The uncomfortable ones
The inconvenient ones
The ones that make us question
Our very existence

While we gather around our tables
To eat our painstakingly prepared meals,
May we be forever haunted by the memories
Of guns, gems, and steel