[Newspoetry] Colin Forgets His Heritage

[Mike Lehman]

Secretary of State Powell
Is hard down on China
Saying they violate human rights
Although they still should be
A Most Favored Nation
For trading with US corporations

It's a bad thing to
Persecute religious minorities
But not a word mentioned
About the exploitation of
Chinese workers
In the service of
Cheap imports for the USA

Colin told Vaclav Havel
That one shouldn't mix
Economic with
Human Rights issues
Its bad for business

Colin you've forgotten
That your forebears
Came to this hemisphere
As part of an economic relationship
Your kin were bought and sold
Simply pieces of merchandise
Is that how you view history?

I'm just trying to be
As dispassionate as you
That's what you expect
So it might be what you get
If you don't realize
The intimate relationship
Between oppression
And the almighty dollar.