Here is a poem about it -
We and They
Father, Mother, and Me,
Sister and Auntie say
All the people like us are We,
And everyone else is They.
And They live over the sea,
While we live over the way,
But - would you believe it? - They look upon We
As only a sort of They!
We eat pork and beef
With cow-horn handled knives.
They who gobble Their rice off a leaf,
Are horrified out of Their lives;
While They who live up a tree,
And feast on grubs and clay,
(Isn't it scandalous?) look upon We
As a simply disgusting They!
We shoot birds with a gun
They stick lions with spears.
Their full-dress is un-,
We dress up to Our ears.
They like Their friends for tea.
We like Our friends to stay;
And, after all that, They look upon We
As an utterly ignorant They!
We eat kitcheny food.
We have doors that latch.
They drink milk or blood,
Under an open thatch.
We have Doctors to fee.
They have Wizards to pay.
And (impudent heathen!) They look upon We
As a quite impossible They!
All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And everyone else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They!
Rudyard Kipling.
Father, Mother, and Me,
Sister and Auntie say
All the people like us are We,
And everyone else is They.
And They live over the sea,
While we live over the way,
But - would you believe it? - They look upon We
As only a sort of They!
We eat pork and beef
With cow-horn handled knives.
They who gobble Their rice off a leaf,
Are horrified out of Their lives;
While They who live up a tree,
And feast on grubs and clay,
(Isn't it scandalous?) look upon We
As a simply disgusting They!
We shoot birds with a gun
They stick lions with spears.
Their full-dress is un-,
We dress up to Our ears.
They like Their friends for tea.
We like Our friends to stay;
And, after all that, They look upon We
As an utterly ignorant They!
We eat kitcheny food.
We have doors that latch.
They drink milk or blood,
Under an open thatch.
We have Doctors to fee.
They have Wizards to pay.
And (impudent heathen!) They look upon We
As a quite impossible They!
All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And everyone else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They!
Rudyard Kipling.
Looking forward to another year of war, conflict and hate? Or peace and happiness? We all have choices and the ability to learn.
And on that serious note, I'm off to do a bit of freeform crochet.
And on that serious note, I'm off to do a bit of freeform crochet.
6 comments:
Hi!
I like your poem, it sounds a lot like a Dr. Seuss poem! LOL I also like your fish hat! Have a great New Year!!
Sherrie
I like Rudyard Kipling. He knew what he was talking about when he wrote this poem, for he had lived a long time in India and had heard prejudices against foreigners all the time. Hopefully we know now that we have to respect other cultures! That's why blogging is so important. Have a great 2009!
That was a great poem by Kipling. We are of like minds concerning subject matter this week.
I used to like Kipling but haven't kipled for a long time now.
Hi everyone - thanks for dropping in.
Murph - the oldies are still the goodies! (He's barking you know, or perhaps Upminster, which is several stops beyond Barking.)
That's a Kipling I didn't know. Thanks.
And a Happy New Year and wonderful new yarns to you!
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