The Beauty of Diversity

This collection of poems concerns topics of absolute importance: racism, prejudice, discrimination.***Racism and prejudice: dirty words indeed.If not careful, though, we might come to believe that's all they are.Issues, yes; but not our problem. They belong to the world at large.However, these hateful cancers are ingrown.They don't live in a gated community, but in every neighborhood.And they can, and so often do, reside in the hearts of every one of us.No one is immune. No one is beyond its grip.We must first search out and find these poisonous rootswithin ourselves before we can ever hopeto be of benefit to the greater good of mankind.(C. Gomez, USA)***Imagine a world where skin color would only be used to express beauty. A teardrop dribbling over toffee skin. Rose petal fingers turning a page. A chocolate hand opening to release a butterfly.I have long grappled with the psychology of discrimination, racism and xenophobia. Are they concepts flowing from an inherent survival mechanism? Do they root in unconscious and misplaced pride? Are they particles in a cycle of learned behavior, transferred from generation to generation?(A. Potgieter, SA)***You saw them coming. You first perceived the danger and you warned: "They are wolves They are wolves " But nobody listened to you.Tell me, What it feels like when everything you do is useless?(F.Frosini, IT