I Too Am A Racist (Sonnet) – Abhijit Naskar, Iftar-e Insaniyat: The First Supper

I too am a racist, except my racism
is rooted in evolution, not ignorance and fear –
to me, human race is the mightiest animal,
which is why, our responsibility is far greater.

I too am a bigot, but my bigotry is tolerance,
I don’t accept anyone as human who’s intolerant.
I too am a fundamentalist, but my faith is choice,
every human is free to choose what’s best for them.

I too am a traditionalist, except I walk the tradition
of acceptance, not a secondhand host to dividing lineage.
I too am an extremist, except my extreme is annihilation,
my culture don’t exist, nor religion, or native language.

I am native of the earth, yet I’m immigrant to humankind,
for I come from a valley, alien to the states of the world.
I am not interested in building bridges, I am the bulldozer,
out to demolish convention that makes divisions possible.