Posted on July 18, 2021
Gift
Reb Kittredge, American Renaissance, July 18, 2021
It’s okay to take pride in something
you didn’t make, or do.
Like a gift.
Say, the gold
signet ring
my parents gave me.
Or Mother’s
hazel eyes,
my father’s gift
for math.
And all things bequeathed.
Say, the Parthenon,
Gulliver’s Travels, walks
on the moon.
A gift should express both giver
and recipient.
I don’t like rap music
so you won’t
get that from me.
You can feel shame for the deeds
of your forebears.
That great-great-someone
who ran the slave auction block
or viperous
Caligula. Not guilt—
the evildoer lives under
that moldy blanket
alone.
But no one can force me
to bear shame
and
take no pride in
my heritage—
that’s a unicorn:
also a gift.