Despite his physical disadvantages

The tortoise is not a victim of demoralization

But instead embraces confidence and challenge

It is the internal that shapes the events

And the satisfaction he receives

In life and in athletics

It is not expected that

A contest relying on the swiftness of the body

Serves to overlay and later to

Remind us of the need for rationality

In a world that anticipates

The failure of the less able

Despite his physical disadvantages

The tortoise defeats the hare who

Being arrogant and being impudent has

No one to blame but himself for his loss

It is not expected but it is good

A story we will tell again and again

You and I have never been of the favored team

Overlooked because the masses are platinum blonde

Are delicately curved and have replaced their

Parent's many years of self-consciousness with

Compliments of elegance for their long limbs

(Tall is the new average!)

The definition of modern beauty

Has never been more contradicted than it is by a look at us

Has never been contradicted so boldly and so proudly

We have tried and tried to find

Some words of acceptance from our peers

Some warm embrace of appreciation to cling onto

It is not expected and not thought of as good

That persons should look to the internal

To show what is to be expected of them

We rely on the arrogance and impudence of others

As our sole vessel to success while the story of

The tortoise and hare is repeated and never remembered

There is a need for rationality and for compassion

In a world that anticipates the failure of the less able

A bomb is dropped and a soldier is shot

And the cry of a deported family is ignored

Because for the good of all people is not for the good of our people

(Will we ever be one people?)

I have traveled to France

I could not see the beauty of the Eiffel Tower

I have traveled to Syria

I could not see the beauty of The Hanging Gardens

I could not take part in the pride of

Miss Teen Vietnam for her country

And I hear that children can become oxen

As easily as they can become shields from

The desperate shots of those tyrannized all their lives

And desperation can become murder as quickly

As the souls of the killed can rise up still in their wedding gowns

Without any invitation to eternal peace

And an innocent human is dead from starvation

Dead from the untreated complications of a mosquito bite

Dead from the conception of her own child

Dead from the flight to her New York City vacation

Dead from the presentation of her face to her country

It is expected