One day,
I asked myself,
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What is the best definition of
Culture?
Is Culture that strong thread
Binding one generation to the next?
Google says
It is the way of life
Reminding me to carry my pocketknife,
Papa says
It is in my manners, my dress,
My religion and his stress
His stress to keep me stain-free
No matter what the situation may be.
I want to ask him
Why does he use culture
To call love a damaged
To sacrifice, kill and dim
The dreams of those
From the LGBTQ community
How does their mere existence
Impure his integrity
Or be a threat to his heritage’s security?
I want to ask him
Why have the future generations and he
Gifted us with a culture of rape and no trees
Why do girls learn to carry pocketknives
While still in their mother’s womb, before even coming to life?
But who am I to question him
If I come from a generation that thinks
Canceling is cool
Chooses to create even more nonsensical rules
Of what’s trendy and what’s not
So we have developed this
Culture of knots
In our conversations
And our family dinners
I want to ask you
Can we unlearn
These years of conditioning
And breakthrough this
Culture of knots
In place of being petty winners
Can we lose graciously,
Just for this once.
