Tag Archives: crime

Inquiring Minds, Poetry Work

Throwing shade at the Inquisition

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You were the judge, the hangman and the noose, the dunking tank, the cold cold water drowning, the fire burning, blistering and bubbling as I was tied too tight to a stout wooden pole of your cutting, and even then, you brought out the red hot poker to blind mine eyes, and a dull knife to remove a tongue lest I challenge you too much with a stare and a word.


I thought the ancient Popes had packed their robes up long ago never to be seen, along with their minions of shallow hates and ignorant fears done at your bidding, oh resurrected inquisitor visiting me in the dead of night, my fate already seems sealed no matter the answers I give to each question intoned darkly at me.

You poor poor soul, how I plea for you to be rid of your own righteous indignities that have darkened your soul that won’t let you truly feel free.
But you remain to just be, ever highly posted in your heaven on high

As I slink out the backdoor with a tip of my hat, a sly grin, and a wave goodbye knowing lady luck was on my side to have never let me lay down in bed by your side.

By Philip Wardlow May 27th 2026

Inquiring Minds

We can’t run

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I have heard many people state over the years, months, and weeks as of late in various media platforms , “Why don’t you just leave your state, or this country if you don’t like the way it’s being run?”

First, I would say, “I was born here, it’s my home.”

Second, I would say, “Some of are us are not so mobile, and not as well off to simply pick up their whole lives and begin anew.”

Thirdly, “What you are talking about is just political self-segregation same as we have had with self-segregation with our educational system state to state across the US over the last 50 years or more. Sure, the Federal Govt abolished segregation at the Government level awhile ago, but not at the personal level with white,  more affluent families choosing to leave certain districts of lower income structures that minorities tended to live in, which later resulted in a higher tax base for those richer suburban neighborhoods while those Urban areas were left adrift,  with a high population density and lower tax revenues generated for their schools.

Also added to that, there were many nefarious but legal state mandates back in the day,  corralling minorities in certain neighborhoods to keep them at bay if you will from the suburban areas and from getting ahead in general.  Because of all that, we now we have many  failing or depressed school systems throughout the U.S. , while other affluent communities  thrive just a few miles away. We then have this polarizing affect of the haves and the have nots occurring across the nation, creating tensions we could have avoided to a large degree.

I  believe familiarity breeds compassion and friendships, as isolation breeds ignorance and fear on both sides.

Black on black crime is the leading cause of young black men in the US and I point to a lack at a chance at a good education,  and also a mental component of the world saying you are good enough to matter being the culprit to all the violence being done.

My whole point is this, leaving a situation, or running from it, WILL not make this nation better as a whole, there are NO borders here in the U.S. or the World . That’s just an illusion we sell ourselves. The bad or the good will always come knocking at your door from everything that happens here in the U.S or abroad, and I mean everything.

by Philip Wardlow May, 2020