Deceptions Sold To Sell(Buyer's Remorse) Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

The first time I had ever seen,
Two people I 'assumed' were white.
And arguing over collared greens.
Was in a grocery store.
In San Antonio, Texas.
I will never forget it.

Not only was I left amused by this.
I was also left to question,
My own perceptions.
Since I had been depicted,
An East Coast 'Yankee'.
And many living in San Antonio,
Believed everyone living...
In a place called Connecticut,
Was rich.
And I had never lived before,
In a place where races for decades...
Had been mixed.

I began to see hypocrisies preached,
Were limited to environments...
Much differently displayed,
As I witnessed portrayed...
In communities and on streets,
Of the beautiful San Antonio.

You see...
I had been raised,
Where divisions by ethnicities...
Was based more on zip codes.
To delude quietly the practice,
Of accepted racism enacted.
Broaden my mind changed.
I knew from that experience,
I'd never be the same.
I learned,
Long before the battle...
Over the Alamo,
Mexicans, Africans and caucasions...
Fought together to do their best,
To keep San Antonio in Mexico.
And out of the hands,
Of General Sam Houston.

And today,
I am more aware that beliefs...
Kept to keep,
Are for those wishing to seek...
To validate their misconceptions.
With deceptions sold to sell.

Who knew,
One day I would find myself...
Faced with having buyer's remorse.
And forced to divorce,
From old beliefs.
I thought would stay forever to keep.
But to live where history,
Is on display with facts...
Has a way to remove created,
Intended mental distractions.