philosopher

prescribed

by Roberto Lavidez

with their

arms crossed

and their eyes

lowered

under the old

simple schema

of confinement

and enclosure

bodies prodded

and poked

inspected and

analyzed

weighed and

measured

like herd

animals

whose meaning

is reworked

through language

and historical ruse

attacked in

the most

contemptuous

manner

according to

meticulously

subordinated cogs

of a machine

the agonizing

hunger and thirst

the soul draining

exhaustion

denigrating myths

propagated by

colonial masters

do not require

rational justifications

or compelling

empirical evidence

supporting

conceptual fortress

surrounding

the slaughter

and exploitation

philosophers

served

the cause

gave those

tantalizing

uninterrupted

play of

calculated gazes

to popularize

the loathing

to reshape

the self-

consciousness

of the powerless

and start the

healing process

for wrongs of

the past

©robertolavidez2013