[This poem was derived from the author's recent visit to her hometown of St. Paul , MN , the scene of much racial unrest in the 60s. Sheila Boerner (sboerner@esu16.k12.ne.us) teaches English at St. Patrick's Catholic High School in North Platte , NE.]

Worse, I answer.
Most days I feel
we’re going downhill
declining in integrity
discipline, respect, a thing of the past.

But now I see the opposite.
The 60′s brought the black riots,
the underdog struggling for his rights,
protests, police brutality,
fires, looting, bloodshed.

Now I walk those same streets
where white and black coexist.
No more fighting, acceptance instead,
immigrants from many nations
work together and enhance our world.

We have learned some things after all.