Information and comments on the story:
The Strange Kid
from the book: Life Will Get You in the End:
Short stories by David Satterlee
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| Life Will Get You in the End: Short Stories by David Satterlee |
A story of bigotry and bullying told, disconcertingly, in a precise "Dr. Seuss" cadence. This was actually written several years before the 2012 mass-shooting at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
The Strange Kid
This
poem was written several years before the 2012 mass-shooting at the Sikh temple
in Wisconsin. It addresses the kind of bigotry and prejudice that springs from
fear and hate. The ideal cure for such violence is for us to get to know our
neighbors, find common ground, and become true friends.
Since we first all went back to school
There’s been a boy who’s new.
He’s different in a lot of ways.
He’s not like me and you.
He wears a white cloth ’round his head
Because he is a Sikh.
He doesn’t want to take it off
To let us have a peek.
His name is even funny too,
And very hard to say.
So Bobby likes to make new names
We call him by each day.
He will not eat a hamburger
Or any kind of meat.
His mother sends him rice stuff that
Smells spicy, strange, and sweet.
And, when we sing
There’s been a boy who’s new.
He’s different in a lot of ways.
He’s not like me and you.
Because he is a Sikh.
He doesn’t want to take it off
To let us have a peek.
And very hard to say.
So Bobby likes to make new names
We call him by each day.
Or any kind of meat.
His mother sends him rice stuff that
Smells spicy, strange, and sweet.
