Then is Now original poem

Then is Now

Familiarity, Warmth, Sadness

Sameness creeps over me

             As I walk into a 19^th century classroom

            A replica of times past
            A memorial of foundations strong

            Yet, it is the room I just left.

Sameness

            Rows, boards, rules,
            Books, stories
            All the same

Sameness creeps over me

And I wonder, where we are
            Locked in traditions of strength
            Or suffering in the silence of
            Shame.

 

© Vernet Clemons Nettles
February 22, 2002