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The poems that follow are among my collection of musings over the years.  I have many written on napkins, envelopes, etc on subjects from ferry boat rides and neon tacos to juniper saps.   The ones that are here are because of some relevance to the theme of this site:  health, society, the media, etc.  I am in the process of editing this page down as it is somewhat "fluff" to the general topic.  Poems and random musings may go up on a page elsewhere as I try to hone in on health.

A Thorn in My Side was inspired by seeing people stutter over how to address someone's ethnicity and remain "politically correct".   


A Thorn In My Side

Tell me now, Kunta Kootay,
What do we call them, what do we say
Negro, colored, or Afro
Does anyone know

Tell me now, Chairman Mao
What do we say now
Oriental or Asian or inventor of plow

Tell me now, my friend Che
What do we call them, what do we say
Hispanic, Chicano, or latino
Does anyone know

All I know, all I can say
You are my brother, my Compadre
All I know, all I can say
We're not a melting pot, we are a bouquet.

norm castillo