When Minds Are Closed And Books Are Banned Poem by Jim Yerman

A mind is just a mind until it's opened…
'Til then it remains just like a book upon the shelf…
But once opened we find love
and hope
we can feel all emotions
we begin to think
and reason for ourself.

There is one truth about a mind that I can offer,
one certainty…
one fact to be proposed…
a mind has no ability for compassion
no power to inspire…
when it is closed.

Likewise…a book is just a book until it's opened
'til then we know not on what adventure it will take us.
will it make us laugh…
or cry…
or shudder with emotion?
Will it reach deep into our hearts and souls…
Will it wake us?

There is one truth about a book that I can offer,
one certainty…
one fact to be proposed:
a book has no ability to make us think
to stir our imagination…
no power to inspire…
when it is closed.

Our country's history is filled with joys and triumphs
other times…pain and suffering we have brought….
but to truly understand who we are
and where we're going
both our good and our bad history must be taught.

If we are only given half the story
then our true history we shall never understand
for we can never be the country we aspire to be
when our minds are closed
and when our books are banned.