Not Only Can Stun But Shock Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

It amazes me,
How a few dollars...
Can change one's perception.
Or a title one is given.
Or where one goes to school,
To receive a degree.

It amazes me,
What one wears on one's back...
Indicates to some,
Where that person's mind is at.
Or where one lives suggests,
Someone has hygiene.
And that is daily addressed.
Or what one drives,
Has a lesser need for gasoline.
Or the person that drives a nice car...
Can afford to buy groceries.

It amazes me...
How some folks judge other folks,
By skin color alone.
And how some folks with the same skin tone...
Dislike themselves,
Or siblings they can't condone.
Or those living on the same street who don't even speak.
And these same folks attend the same church...
To hear a preacher sermonize about sin,
And communal unity!
It amazes me how ignorance expressed,
Receives more respect than someone with intelligence.

It amazes me how decadence is praised.
And those who choose to worship it...
Are the ones of sleaze,
Who sit on pedestals raised!
This,
Not only can stun...
But shock anyone,
Who has been awakened from an unconsciousness!