occupy power –
settle in,
take up residence,
once ensconced –
dismantle
and please redistribute.
social justice
vet
we feel compelled
to vet one
and trust The Other.
One deemed inherently worthy,
the other, a mere token.
One life matters,
the other, disposal.
one Group succeeded
by dint of Its own bootstraps,
the other perceived as a perennial burden.
we speak of equity
and behave much differently.
privilege is blind
as justice was supposed to be.
.
π
.
meet me
meet me
there
you know where!
our secret place –
“you” are “You”
“i” am “Me” –
no masks –
open
giving
receiving –
honestly
and wholeheartedly π
feels sooooo good
to Be there.
like Home –
soft and warm,
illuminated β¨οΈ
joyous π₯³
we – each –
seen
heard
honored
held
healed
revived
revealed
patched up
and then
to that “other” world –
the frenzied marketplace –
we are re-turned
with gift π bearing Hands π«΄
and Compassionate Heart β€οΈ
to Serve π
still Love
though bruised and battered –
still Love
confused, befuddled, disheveled –
still Love
disheartened, disillusioned, disappointed –
still Love
unhinged, undone, unkempt –
still Love
perplexed, meandering, questioning – still Love
ignored, misunderstood, un-Loved –
still Love
in the noisy-ness and messy-ness of this Life –
still Love
in perceived isolation –
still Love
to the very last breath in encasement –
only Love β€οΈ
fear
fear is a Gate.
to where?
another realm,
a clearer lens,
an unimaginable
reality,
a new face,
a chance to awaken
and break
destructive cycles,
generational patterns,
and long expired
unconscious
contracts.
a different vibration –
more stillness
on this Side,
bliss-full contemplation,
grounded regulation,
time for deep integration,
leading to
coherence and its twin, remembrance.
Here too,
the surrender and freedom
that beckon
sweet Peace
from its longtime captor, fear.
NO MORE
what will it take
to study war no more?
how many precious Lives;
how much devastation;
to shed delusions
of “you”
“me”
“they”
“we”?
what will it take
to See
inter-sectionality,
inter-dependence,
inter-being;
that I am Me
because you are You?
how to be finally relieved
of this exhausting
burden and cycle of trauma
seeded in
retaliation
revenge
reactivity
dis-regulation
and perceived “wins”?
where is the Space
for cultivation of
mind-full
measured
response?
what will it take to just
STOP βοΈ
consciously chose
LOVE
in lieu of hate?
when do we decide
we walk the paths much less trodden –
forgiveness, Truth, reconciliation?
what spells and prayers might we invoke,
sacred concoctions prepared
to awaken from our stubborn slumber,
to re-member our shared humanity,
banish war from our vocabulary,
curate abiding Peace βοΈ π only β€οΈ
humanity
.
why are we
in such a hurry –
always –
to leave,
to fix,
to judge,
to eat,
to “live”?
.
what is the origin
of the discomfort
to truly lean in,
to listen,
to stay,
to sit,
to be Still
in commUnity?
.
Alas, the contradictions
of a splintered humanity –
we say we crave
companionship,
that we are
profoundly lonely,
yet we tend to
scatter soon after we Gather.
we seem to be able
to contain only so much
life,
love,
time,
energy,
words,
presence,
silence.
.
why?
powerful people
who are they?
why are they?
what are they?
we look Up
and admire them,
envy and revile them.
fundamentally human
like the rest of us –
ordinary people
with too much extra –
a “gift” and a “curse”
to hold such a place
on our spaceship Earth.
need it always be so-
a few “high”
so many made relatively “low”?
perhaps a little more equity
on the way to generous equality
spurred by empathy,
our shared humanity,
and true understanding
of this current road’s danger
and lack of sustainability.
prayers to you
what’s it all about,
you coming into
this scared space
spewing your hate?
why not go outside
to the streets
into the Light –
strong and proud
expressing as you perceive:
that only white lives matter
all people of color
have “it” coming
that their lives mean nothing.
prayers to you,
for you truly know not
what it is you do.
you have forgotten
what You really are;
alas, you can see but so far-
only to the level of the skin
so utterly limited you are,
tightly constricted
unseen, likely never really heard,
lonely in your Little Box
amidst your tribe
of hardened have nots.
from such profound lack,
you shame and blame
easily kill and maim,
desperately looking outside
for what does not exist within.
no present capacity to self-reflect
nor the tools to adequately take stock
and practice personal responsibility.
fervent prayers for the lost pieces of you-
may you soon re-member and awaken.
I can’t breathe!
“I can’t breathe!!”
we, people the color of night’s sky, have been saying –
pleading-
for centuries.
What part of this do you not understand?
Are you not human
like me –
flesh
bone
blood?
A parent like me –
mother
sister
father
brother
like me?!
Look into my eyes
deep into The Soul
as I gaze into
The Essence of you.
Hear me:
I can’t breathe.
Tell me:
How does it feel
to have your knee
pinned to my back-
digging deep,
crushing with intention.
How does it serve you
to tie your noose
around my neck
stifling my breath
as I sway
gently
from the poplar tree?
Look into my eyes –
see what I see
so very clearly:
whatsoever you do
unto me,
you too
shall reap.
We
can’t
breathe.