A Naked Beginning Poem by Kyle Schlicher

i was born naked
without
prejudice,
hatred
or
remorse.

then,
they clothed me
in knowledge
of religious fervor
and
race superiority.

i became
a pawn
in their
one act play
that
never ended
for
a curtain call.

policemen
with crew cut hair
did the bidding
of old fattened
politicians
who
saw society
more
as a movie
in black and white
than a movie
in
color.

i became disenchanted
as i grew older
and
having witnessed
man's
inhumanity
onto
each other
i realized
a human being
is
a
human
being
regardless
how different
i am from them.

thus,
i was born naked
and
now
shall
die
naked,
unencumbered
and
free.

(9-15-1973)