it was simply understood
greed may have been
good then, but not
the admitting of it
respect for your elders then
required that you use
their title – Mr., Mrs., Miss
not Ms unless you were from
the South and then
you spelled it Miz
anyone who swore aloud
shocked, and was shunned
but our black and white sensibilities
denied brown, yellow and red
the possibility of full personhood
it was simply understood