It's Poetry Friday, it's Juneteenth. Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect is our host today, sharing a personal Golden Shovel poem from a line by T.S. Eliot. Be sure to read her post and all the others who are sharing their poetry this week.Our Governor Jared Polis, Colorado, will sign a sweeping police reform bill this important Friday, some of the most comprehensive legislation passed since the death of George Floyd on May 25th. I am proud that he and our legislature has acted so quickly. More is needed, and I have faith it will come. I am participating in one neighborhood protest but know that is only my beginning of change.
While reading differing news articles and opinions this week, I came across a line that stuck. Sometimes it's challenging to figure out the why of things, but this one led to a poem. I am sad to learn more of what has been happening that I have not been aware of as a white person through the years, sad that it happened, sad that I was ignorant of things like policies I thought were good, but ones that only served to keep black people and other people of color from their own successes, well-deserved, but so little acknowledged. I want to learn, no matter how hard it might be. This line (my title) shows the beginning of my learning, but the poem reflects the more recent sorrow.
All Sides Are Slippery
days and days
(this is the upside part)
hundreds march
carry broadsides
alongside each other
outside on streets
sometimes bridges
also highways
all together for one side
or so imagined
until people beside them
threw things
that made them cough
and their eyes water,
therein lies an upside
and a downside
no one has stopped
even marching in the countryside
yet more have died
this lingering lopsided world
makes my heart hurt
inside
sidestepping continues
on most real issues
sidelining big needs
tearing away the underside
of breath
Linda Baie ©
This is a powerful call to action poem, Linda, showing the depths of your emotion:
ReplyDeletethis lingering lopsided world
makes my heart hurt
inside
With hope for a better tomorrow and united world, I wish you well this weekend.
Wow, Linda. This has power in it, to it. I am with you in learning and listening and making sure I am no longer part of the problem but the solution. The upside and the downside are hard to determine sometimes. Thank you for this poem, your thoughts and your leadership.
ReplyDeleteSo much painful truth here - a call to see, comprehend, act, and yet to be mindful that "all slides are slippery" if we are not self-vigilant ... your words echo with heartache, Linda, for this wobbly, lopsided, sidestepping world ... it cries out for balance; we hear it if we try. The horror of those lines, "tearing away the underside/of breath" speaks to targeting vulnerability, of humanity's inhumanity to itself. That horror, that aching, that realization, is the only way hidden biases begin to end, if there is to be true liberty and justice for all. So much reformation is needed; it has begun. Let us work for sustainability. Thank you for your heartrending words.
ReplyDelete-Fran Haley https://litbitsandpieces.com/
Thank you for your powerful, heartwrenching poem. So many days it all feels so hopeless, yet as you say in the opening lines of your poem, there is an upside -- the brave, relentless peaceful protestors of all ages and stripes give me hope. We all need to educate ourselves, stop taking things for granted, open our hearts and minds to what is happening no matter how painful the truth may be. And while we are learning, there is also something to be said about carrying guilt -- white or otherwise -- when we've lived our lives thus far well intentioned. It's about moving forward, fighting for progress. I am grateful for this huge wake-up call.
ReplyDeleteWow, your poem poignantly speaks for many of us, Linda. Not being stateside, I can only do so much. They have been having BLM marches in Zurich (about an hour by train) but NO ONE wears a mask! I want to let my voice be heard and my solidarity be seen, but I worry about exposure rates. The Swiss have been very weird (negligent?) about the reopening. It is literally like there never was a pandemic. A rant for another day... Also, I want to say yay for Colorado - your governor and legislature deserve accolades. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat poem, Linda--I love all the side words you included, and the realization that the imagined side we think we share is not necessarily real. Yes, we are all learning and must continue to learn.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful poem, Linda! I appreciate your honesty and your weighing of so many sides. Like you, I have so much to learn. Those ending lines--wow!
ReplyDeleteVery powerful poem Linda, especially your closing stanza, and I share this feeling too:
ReplyDelete"this lingering lopsided world
makes my heart hurt
inside"
There's much catch-up learning to do–this also must be part of the change that's started and will continue to march on, thanks.
Yes, we live in a lopsided world and we are confronting the truth of that now. I share your feelings, wishing I had been more aware of the suffering of so many. You're poem is powerful.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I'm with you, so much learning needs to be done. Your poem is a powerful statement, and it is beautifully written. Thank you for sharing it here.
ReplyDeleteThank you to everyone. I am grateful to hear your thoughts about my poem and our world happening today. You give me hope for better in our future.
ReplyDeleteThe use of slide again and again is brilliant and really hones in on the slip side of our lopsided world. Makes my heart hurt inside! Yes. Thanks for your inspiring poem.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret & I love your 'slip slide'!
DeleteMy heart hurts, too, Linda. It's so troubling to me that our ordinary lives are filled with privileges we don't even recognize. How do we confront that? More importantly, how do we dismantle those systems? "Sidelining" and "sidestepping" are so much easier, but impossible if we're going to right this "lingering lopsided world." Thank you for your honest reflections about this painful time in our world.
ReplyDeleteI have hope that we will all work hard to figure it out, Catherine. Thank you!
DeleteSo powerful, Linda. Your use of the various "side" words is brilliant.
ReplyDeletethis lingering lopsided world
makes my heart hurt
Mine too.
Stay well!
Thank you, Carmela. As I wrote above, I am hopeful.
DeleteThis lopsided world has my heart hurting, too, Linda. Thank you for the love and thoughtfulness you bring into this lingering, lopsided world.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen!
Delete