I wish to do more than
bow to the language of assent.

I want action, conversation,
openness and compassion.

I determine to move beyond
the ticking of boxes,
the convenient categories,
and the stamping
of that which makes us feel good.

I want to feel unsettled
across the neat boundaries
of my existence.

I want to move beyond sorry
to the bleeding history,
the weeping sore, and
face it as confrontation.

I will not write and read
words apart from passion
and the difficulty of action.

For on my shoulders it sits
and I accept this yoke and
wish to carry it to a future
that all of us will make.

 

11/7/2023