Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve.
(Erich Fromm)
Human animals think too much—without questioning the truth of their source. Unfortunately, we upright-moving creatures are born with ego and an overdose of certainty, based on experience in a tiny section of the world.
I wrote this poem more years ago than I recall. My granddaughter was a toddler. She is now in fifth grade. A ballerina. Grade-A student, She also happens to be significantly taller than I am.
These verses are based on an incident that occurred at the Museum Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. My beautiful girl may have grown up, but she chooses her friends based upon inner qualities, not incidental skin tone. I am proud of who she has grown to be.
Naked Baby Dolls
Child-proof dolls
with painted black hair
and eyes forever open
lie on the floor
of the toddler room.
Figures identical, except for
brown or peach plastic bodies,
the dolls are naked.
The children don’t care.
Bare babies and honesty
fit the simple ambience
of parallel play.
I watch as each doll
passes from child to floor,
and back again. The brown babies
get picked first.
My toddler granddaughter pouts
as another child grabs
the dark doll she had been cuddling.
I try to hand her the paler version.
Her frown deepens. On the rug
the dolls that wait
look anemic, pale.
I think about human skin shades
from ivory to licorice, and mentally
list a larger number of darker tones.
Nutmeg, cinnamon, chestnut, bronze
chocolate, mahogany, coffee, umber.
Strange that at this age
the little people choose the toy
with the richer complexion.
Yet only a few of the children
resemble darker hues. The toddlers’ choices
contradict the prejudiced
adult majority. Someday I pray
these children see beyond the exterior.
The dolls wear a paint layer
thin enough to be chipped off.
Their differences can be altered with a brush stroke.
People share diverse histories
and cultures, but living hearts beat
a common rhythm.
May we grow
together
as one human race.
(This poem has been published in the anthology, FOR A BETTER WORLD and in the online magazine PIKER PRESS.)
terrypetersen 