My hope still breathes - A reflection
The young girl inside
Who runs at the sign of danger
Tearfully rocking herself
To soothe the terror
In her body
She prays
Please, she pleads,
Please let this stop
Please help them see
That we are the same
And we are different
And it is okay
Please let them see that
We can share the same air
We can hold each other
We can look at each other
With love
Like pieces to a puzzle
We are jumbled
And complementary
And in our joining
We reveal a larger picture
Of opportunity for
Empathy
Unity
Integrity
Of eyes with lifted veils
Of egos that withstand the bruise
Of voices that speak to hear
To embrace
To elevate
The hatred we are fed
Provides a strong foundation
For bodies to rest
And stepping off that platform
Can be like
An endless fall
Weightless and yet
Heavy in anticipation of
Clashing between
Our bodies and the ground
Replaying over and over in our minds
Fear of becoming broken
Bruised
And alone
However
I invite you to take a moment
And consider what is beneath your feet
What types of wood
And nails
Hold up your knowledge of the world?
What makes up these walls
That separate you and I
With windows
For you to see
Who is different
Who is not allowed to come within
Who remains the outsider
What makes up your
Insultation that keeps
You warm enough
To stay in
When you think of a body that moves differently
Than yours
A body that talks differently
Than yours
When you see a body
Clothed with different garments
Emitting a different smell
Holding pockets of a different size
Wrapped in skin of a different tone
What do you see?
What do you believe they do for the community?
Eat at dinner?
Whose company they keep?
What values they hold?
Now I invite you to pause, my friend
Take a cleansing breath
And let go of what you think you see
Let go of
What has been taught to you
And push it far enough
That you can truly see
For how can you know
How a person lives
When you have not lived with them?
Just as you are open
To walk the path you choose
So are they
Just as you are deserving of love
So are they
And just as you are deserving of growth
So are they
So are we
I ask
What would it take
For us to look out our window
With curiosity
For us to leave our home
With bravery
For us to extend a hand
An arm
A voice
For the person we see outside of our window
What would it take
To leave the intoxicating
Show that was performed
In the theater of oppression
And join an auditorium of heart
Empathy
And humility
To join in the
Freeing of one another
From the grip
Of oppression
A puppeteer that moves our bodies for us
And into love
