What We Want To See
May you nurture your courage and hold yourself with gentle regard - embody the versions of ourselves that we need in each other.
A poem by Marion Parajes
What we want is not out of our reach
Food is plenty, shelter is ready
Justice, resting in the hands of our communities
Buried deep in the human spirit, the soil
From which our actions grow
Rests the seed of witnessing
When we meet eyes with someone in pain
We share that pain, often to our own
Detriment and overwhelm
But that is further cause to
Hold each other closer
And heal in warmth
Heartbeats in close proximity
Our bonds are strong braided cords
When people gather in the thousands,
Millions, to cry for those who are suffering
The cord strengthens, it tugs on us to join
The pull – it is natural to listen to our human instinct
To reach for each other
A feeling that abounds plentifully, but must be protected
From the forces that seek to control
Our hands as we weave.
These are not far-fetched ideas
Strewn among the clouds like
Dissipating atoms
In anxious humidity
We want the heat of our efforts to rise
Into a powerful storm
We’ll hold onto our cord with paling knuckles
And tug the war out of our opponent’s grasp
Reeling in the ties we made
Back to safety
Because if one of us wins
Then it’s easier for others to win.
We will teach lessons of honesty
And integrity from an earned place of ease
Not merely because we scraped by and
Survived, but because we found ways to
Keep each other strong and jubilant.
Our tools of interconnectedness
Will serve their intended purpose, no longer
Working to alienate us, no longer
In favor of the voices of the few.
We must remain vigilant in these times of
International uproar. We must pay attention
To the wear in a stranger’s eye. We must
Learn each other’s ailments and remedies.
Once recovered, we must continue to be curious
And cultivate a competitive spirit
To overcome future sickness.
What can we do as a household, neighborhood,
City, state, region, and international body
With shared visions of the future?
What would it take to increase aid
To lift yourself and others
Out of perpetual danger and fear?
What would it take to become who we were truly meant to be?
How much stronger can you become
Against the apathetic tide of authority?
How can you hold fast with the energy you expend daily?
Initiate the unbecoming of your inner colonies.
Work towards seeing liberation
In the corners of your eyes
Because it’s there.
A global re-learning, an overdue celebration
Should the ground beneath us leap for joy
Should the waves invite themselves into our homes
Should our air become ripe with consequence
We will still cheer, we will still laugh
For ourselves and for each other
As we collectively discover liberation.
We want to see collective liberation.
We want to see collective liberation.
We want to see collective liberation.
