sometimes I come here full of words
other times, empty
heart so heavy it’s on the ground
humankind swirling all around me
making my head spin with
dichotomies and paradoxes
each individual’s unique mixture
of specific beliefs about the people around them
cupped in the palm of their hands, nearly overflowing
ready to hurl them at a moment’s notice
so much ignorance and hatred on all sides
so much prejudice and stereotyping
when you look at humanity down through the ages
and how each group, regardless how they grouped themselves
by village, by city, by empire, by race, by tribe
by religion, et cetera
has consistently managed to forget the humanity
of those outside the group
and inflict harm on those weaker than them
it makes you wonder how any one group today
can justify their stance against another group
when you look at recent history, the last few centuries,
European colonization and slavery in particular
the first truly global instance of this misuse of power
and the fallout from it that we are experiencing today
you realize that all the groups – and all the hatred –
are drawn along those original European colonist lines
the struggle between « first world » and « third world »
between « nationalists » and « immigrants »
between « whites » and « people of colour »
between Christian-majority nations and Muslim-majority nations
and when you look at the various responses to the situation
by descendants of the colonists and slavers
by descendants of the colonized and enslaved
there is so much to learn
I’ve known the Christian and the Muslim
the Jew and the Hindu
the atheist and the agnostic
and loved them all
I’ve read their scriptures and scholars
and carefully balanced their nuances
in the palm of my hands
like a fragile baby bird
the paradox that what was once written
and how it is interpreted by scholars
and how each interpretation is valued or ignored
by the spiritual and the secular, the safe and the disenfranchised
rarely match up
I’ve known the emigrant, the human being traveling the planet
in search of a safer, more comfortable life
and I’ve known the colonist’s descendant who turned them away
who had xenophobia passed down to them
instead of a grandmother’s cookie recipe
and was taught to draw lines in the sand and keep people from crossing
instead of being taught how to change a tire
who cries when 2,996 people are killed inside a line his ancestors drew
but doesn’t blink an eye when 460,000 are killed outside the line in retaliation
because they are « other »
and blinded by either their helplessness or poverty
cannot see how they are perpetuating their ancestors’ sins
I’ve known human beings of every shade of melanin
I’ve known human beings of every spiritual creed
I’ve known human beings of every colour passport
I’ve known human beings of every political leaning
I’ve known human beings of every level of income
I’ve known human beings of every level of education
I’ve known human beings of every temper and disposition
I’ve known human beings with every amount of privilege
I’ve known human beings who’ve been through every level of suffering
And seen how each one embraces some, and despises others
Seen how the worst among them were shaped into killers
by the tides of life that bore them into the world and drowned them
and by some inexplicable bent towards cynicism and evil
whether theist or atheist
white or brown
at home or abroad
And how the best among them were shaped into helpers
by the tides of life that bore them into the world and buoyed them
and by some inexplicable bent towards positivity and love
whether theist or atheist
white or brown
at home or abroad
and I long for each human being
to truly see every other human being
as a brother and sister
to be healed of their pain or blindness
and break free and soar above this war
