DIATRIBE.

It’s not racist, is it,
Just the result of unsettlement
That’s all; the unquiet stir of resentment
Perpetrated against the alien, whoever that may be.
An incursion into
Territory once seen as sacred; whether
Religious or political or simply geographical,
By a minority invited without any local debate.
A group of men,
A group of white men,
A group of white men in their twenties will
Have a pop at anything because of circumstance;
As would a group of black or Asian or gay or old or
Incapacitated men, or women for that matter, and better.
A herd of Tyke or Geordie
Or Scouse or Brum or Cockney will call
Attention to another type’s difference without
It being overly malicious, even with an offensive suffix.
A pack of dogs will attack cats,
A pack of pedigrees, mongrels; it’s not
Personal, it’s impersonated, that’s all. Don’t
Take it to heart because it’s not meant to be
Cardiac, it’s just a barracked attack; it’s just words,
And they can never harm you.