Fathers Poem by Don Pearson

My fathers lived on savannah
And sheltered in a tree
But all their wisdom, handed down
Still applies to me.

My fathers lived in Israel
Our God showed them the light
But all that they wrote in His name
Applies on the tube at night.

My fathers lived in desert sands
When Europe was all dark
Shariah law is what we need
For muggings in the park.

My fathers lived when men were men
And women were their wives
But all the precedents they set
Help with our city lives.

My fathers scratched a living
Under the rule of tsars
The tsars’ enlightened doctrines
Still help us win our wars.

The constitution, it was framed
By wiser men than we
They knew that we could never trust
A true democracy.

My fathers were all royalty
They thought their subjects brutes
Although one knows it’s not PC
One can’t forget one’s roots.

My fathers’ attitude to those
Under the Empire’s sway
Still form the basis for my views
On immigrants today.

My father was a communist
I’d often hear him say:
“Line them up against a wall
Kill them, make them pay”.

I’m a very simple man
And all I’d like to say
Is, “Reassess your fathers’ words
for what makes sense today”.

Dec 2000