Ethnic cleansing does not remove
the stigma of massacre,
nor remove color stains.
Blood is not removed by luminal
gray ash of cremation, can’t be swept away
the Nazis tried;
instead got a trial at Nuremberg.
Religious fervor does not vacuum up
the remains of genocide.
Mopping up the decay of dead bodies
does not diminish the smell.
Shoveling dirt over carcasses
can’t hide them.
Serbians tried,
instead got a trial at Nuremberg.
Ethnic cleansing does not
bleach out color
racial profiling is heinous
no matter the skin tone.
Makeup does not blot out famine.
Skin peels do not conceal lynch tactics,
Al Qaida is trying
but Chad and Sudan
will not conceal them.
© 2005 by Rosemary Winters Tracey
Rosemary Winters Tracey
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ethnic-cleansing-2/
