POLITICAL Poem: The Matter with Words is they Matter, Their Words, by Nancy J. Klein, Ed.D

A man and a woman are running a race
to be our next leader and win in first place.
A sparkly-eyed woman with kindness to share,
an orange-faced man with the upside-down hair.

She follows the rules and does what is fair,
she looks right at people which shows us she cares.
He shows off in crowds and sometimes talks late,
yelling and shouting “I’ll make this place great!”.

“She’s ugly and lazy and dumb as a rock.”.
Spitting out words to shame and to mock.
Where are the parents, the teachers, the postmen, the cops?
Where are the grown-ups demanding he stop?

His hands and his arms swing with floppity flips,
teasing a newsman through fast twitching lips.
“I could stand in the street and shoot someone dead,”
I remember his words; they live in my head.

Cheating and lying and breaking the rules,
If he were a kid, he’d get kicked out of school.
He makes angry fists, he hollers, and pouts.
He never gets punished, no jail or time-out.

We know what we’ve seen and what we have heard.
The matter with words is they matter, his words.
Sooner or later, his words will all reach us.
If he’s in the White House, is that what he’ll teach us?

Her words think of others with “Are you alright?”,
She chooses her words to make us feel bright.
“We’re not going backwards, we’re moving ahead,”
Hers are the words still alive in my head.

She lived in a house with her sister and mother,
I guess she’s like me, we’re like one another.
She had a best friend who was hurt really bad,
she invited her home so she wouldn’t feel sad.

We know what we’ve seen and what we have heard.
The matter with words is they matter, her words.
Sooner or later, her words will all reach us.
If she’s in the White House, I want her to teach us.

Dog-eating people and those who eat cats,
who could believe there are people like that?
Those are the words from the orange-faced man,
who says what he wants ‘cuz he knows that he can.

“Fat, lazy aliens, get out of town!
He says that to people with skin that is brown.
“You poison our blood; you murder and steal.”
He says all those words, does that make them real?

Why do the leaders who have so much power
spread all those lies each minute and hour?
Mean words and lying words soon start to reach us.
Are those the words that you choose to teach us?

He lost the election but said that he won.
He couldn’t believe that his job was all done.
He hated to lose, said it made him real mad,
He made up a plan to do something bad.

Lots of his friends thought the big boss had won.
They stormed into town with their sticks and their guns.
They crashed through that building, they just wouldn’t stop.
They hurt tons of people, many were cops.

We know all we’ve seen and all we have heard.
The matter with words, is they matter, their words.
Sooner or later their words will all reach us.
Why choose those ones as the words that will teach us?

Maria Ramirez, my friend since first grade,
loves to play baseball but now she’s afraid.
Afraid of the bullies who go to our school,
afraid of the kids who were taught to be cruel.

“You fat, lazy alien, get out of our space.”
Screamed all those big bullies at Maria’s scared face.
They kicked and they punched and they tossed her around.
Maria, my friend lay in blood on the ground.

We know all we’ve seen and all we have heard.
The matter with words, is they matter, their words.
Sooner or later those words will all reach us.
Are those the words you’re choosing to teach us?

What is so great about words that put down,
about screaming and yelling “You get out of town!”?
What is so great about kids in big cages,
not seeing their parents for ages and ages?

A man and a woman are running a race
to be our next leader and win in first place.
We’re begging you please for a future that’s great,
Not flooded in lies with mean words and hate.

Please bring our country together as one,
that sparkly-eyed woman will get the job done.
That orange-faced man, I know will make two;
the good one, the bad one, the red and the blue.

Think of your children and their children too.
The matter with words is they matter, they do.
Please vote for the person you want to teach us,
Sooner or later their words will all reach us.