A benevolent society
welcomes all: the poor, hench, underserved,
As long as proper customs were observed.
Hand washing, proper piety,
Police to watch for chicanery.
It was better than they deserved:
A benevolent society.
Under knee too long to go quietly.
Once suppressed now anger unreserved.
Rise up, shout, with justice unserved:
We no longer claim without irony
A benevolent society.
Benevolent (adjective)
1. Charitable: performing good or charitable acts and not seeking to make a profit.
2. Characterized by or suggestive of doing good; showing kindness or goodwill.
WordThink
Hench (adjective)
Of a person: having a powerful, muscular physique; fit, strong. Originally particularly associated with black and inner-city youth culture.
Oxford English Dictionary
Chicane (verb)
Trick, cheat
Lexico
Style: Rondine – 12 lines, 2 stanzas, 7 lines in the first stanza, 5 in the second. 8-10 syllables per line except the 7th and 1th lines are the refrain of the opening word or phase of the poem. Rhyme pattern looks like this: abbaabR/abbaR.
Reflective of current events as one more innocent black man was laid to rest, a reminder of the failures of society and our racism.