DALITS

What is it in me that makes your perception of me

Why is including me just a means of excluding me

Is it I am not worthy of God's kiss because of this?

*Dalits is how I feel buried under these feeling

I dream of peace, love, and purity

But no one sees that in me

The list of my faults are long

I check the long list to try to change them all

But it is you that I wronged as my list goes on

Dalits is how I feel buried in the silence of unforgiven 

But asking forgiveness is just a sin

But this is how I know my place just to fit in

No matter where I place my shoes, no matter where I sit

I look inside for my own forgiveness, but how do I do this

When anyone sees my struggles, they are pushed back on me

Dalits is how I feel buried under the sweepings of leftover life.

Living in the night always wrong, never right

Proudly claiming the last place inline

No matter what I do, it is never good enough

When done with so much care and love

Alone I hear the father's wisdom as the forgotten son.

Dalits is how I feel buried under blocks of guilt.

Used to build a wall of silence shut off from the guidance

The respect I give the respect I receive is like tasteless *sabjiyaan 

©Copyright Thomas J. Dooley 2021

*Dalits the lost caste in Indian culture

*Hindi for vegetables 

NOTES: