ideas - 030

020250222

there is a third option

like a state of quantum mechanics

even a fourth

like an effervescent soul climbing

it isn’t binary only

violence or love

civil disobedience or war

you or me

male or female

baby or life

victim or rapist

life or death

us versus them

color or blindness

silence or to report

death or migration

we can choose to feel others

we can choose for ourselves

you may not have all the options

but you can choose

to be a better person

seeking alternatives

doing the unexpected

surprising even yourself

writing a story authentically

witnessing as a lead learner

020250222

please help me be a better person

i write on some paper

usually my writing is digital

on some device

maybe to keep my prayer authentic I

should scrap this paper

and go back to my phone

slip into

god’s DMs expressing my failures

and then - looking towards the heavens - i’ll take aim - and hurl my digital device with all my might - throwing out my shoulder - aggravating my tennis elbow - defying gravity one of gods gifts

i’ll have more of a chance reaching them then breaking through the hold of these social norms on my own - which is really my prayer - make me not one with the universe or one with everything but make me

please

able to see what is wrong with what i have created so that i can do better next time

020250222

that’s like

putting an elevator

in an outhouse

some things should

remain unsaid

somethings should not

climb up the stairs

in my throat

they should remain

in the pit

decomposed and digesting

until fully understood to be returned

as fuel for a seed

inspiration is a reaction

to something less than desired

excuse me

was that a fart or a burp

that started our migration

020250222

part of the problem is

we didn’t do enough

reflection and

we didn’t lead

we just hoped it would

return to normal

we didn’t do enough

because that felt normal

to not do enough

we have to do more this time

after he is gone

or removed

we have to reflect

we have to study

we must protect

not our fragile democracy

but our nascent community

we must shine a light

on all the evil

we must say their names

the perpetrators and

those we have lost

we have to do better

which can only be done

by remembering past changes

such that we inform future changes

if this experience doesn’t bring out our best

then we deserve the worst of a repetition

i have not done enough

i am perpetrating social norms through

veiled signals of virtue

this little poem of mine

i am going to armor up

sheltering it from…

because i fear the dark

don’t bring in that

mirror

i fear this authenticity won’t reflect

what i believe

it will instead show me

what i fear most

that i am silent

holding my truth

in my hand

waiting to be called on

as if god had a moment planned for me to speak up and this isn’t yet that time

let’s not let fear break our destiny

like the shattering of a friends heart

bullies complicit in murder through

the repetition of othering

020250222

in our skin

our blood is blue

exposed to the air

our blood is red

a flag should inspire

a flag should give hope

when it is still there

white isn’t the only

color of the container

our flag needs a revolution

it needs to reflect who we aspire

to be

maybe it remains unchanged

but we must

we must change

020250222

how good do we have to be

for the intergenerational transfer of love

to heal generational trauma

020250222

like a rock wrapped in prayer

your wisdom presses down

upon my pinky worse than a paper cut

thank you Jasmine Mans

020250222

i learned a new word today

forced salpingectomy

we do so much harm

with those who in order to be licensed

pledge to do no harm

020250222

what ever happened to the dial tone

that pause before reaching out

would it hurt to have to listen

before pushing buttons

i suppose now

we instant message

but unlike a letter

taking days to arrive

and the response even longer

now i suppose the dial tone is

an ellipse that is there and then gone

020250222

i was gonna get up

to do so much

but then the barking dog

came and curled up

020250222

peace be upon you

cultural appropriation

still

but in my own language

in order to show i understand

that i too want peace for you

020250222

boo

let's practice making

macaroni and cheese so good

and fried chicken

it can be small batch

because we want to eat healthy

as we live forever

but let's get it right

so that our friends can

have something to look forward to

at funerals

i want it such that when

someday comes when

we die in each other's arms

at our funeral our friends will say

i wish they left us some of that love

and ask

what is there to look forward to after this funeral

let's both of us get barefoot

and into that kitchen

we have some sauce and breading to prefect