Attended “Story Telling To Heal The Soul,” an intimate gathering in Connecticut, where 43 people described their first exposure to race. Most were whites and the host a black family. I dislike the black/white lens as limiting to the scope of my love and communication; however, for messaging sake, I have to communicate to connect (as the host pointed out is paramount).
It may be hard to appreciate some of us are, simultaneously, healers, reparations workers, writers, pragmatists and revolutionaries at heart, of all colors, with some identities at odds with others. Yours truly –just one package of possibilities (Fu Kiau)– wants us to regard our racial healing exploration as the spiritual gift it is. Another thought-love opportunity for unity — this is what any mess really is.
Call for Racial Healing
my nation calls /so does my color
my gender calls / so does my mother
the one whose thoughts alone take care of me
she gave me life / for some this is Godly
i cannot forego my nation or i won’t be healed
i cannot forego my color or i won’t be healed
i cannot forego my gender or i won’t be healed
and if i forego my mother / my thoughts / what is Godly
i can never know my father / my clan / heaven
and i cannot know myself
as a healing, healthy, human … earthly
my nation calls and a story awaits my pen
like a stack of writing paper awaits the ink
i will peel off a sheet and scribe my thoughts …
so today, white sheets do not call or oppress me
thoughts from my life / your life / no longer staggering.
Saturday Sonnets copyright © 2017 by Niamo Nancy Muid
