Tell your story —
Begin at the end and work your way back
to the day of realization when you awoke
to the knowledge that the light had missed
its mark and your skin was black or brown
or that you were impoverished or simply, the other
and different from the rest —
The moment when your world came crashing down.
Unfold forward to the day of your enlightenment
as you embraced your pain and self-nurtured.
Tell how you picked yourself up, inhaled with pride
and freed yourself from the darkness —
and shining your light you energized.
Tell your story and compliment it with the stories
of others and light up the souls of ordinary
people and reveal oppression and abuse.
Together as a global community we share
both the pain and the common journey called ‘life’.
Let us take back the word and write our own stories
aware light can illuminate and expand
our understanding of life in a way that heat cannot.
Let us ignite and rid ourselves of the sordidness
of discrimination and inequality.
For, if we cannot see the world we wish to inhabit
we will never arrive at our destination
nor find our like-minded companions.
So together, let us rise and follow the path of
our dreams, and on our way dismantle
the walls of intolerance and prejudice
by standing up to the voices of division
which mislead the young and vulnerable
down holes of hate and self-centredness.
We shall breathe as one and connect
to lobby and strive for equality, respect
and social reform, making transparent
the sources of injustice and hopelessness.
Fuelling the fire in our hearts we will empathize
and mobilize for social change
and sharing our entwined experiences
create a more loving, tolerant, and kinder world.
Remember, we are all wanderers on this precious globe
and our stories can spread to shine light
on the wrongs done to us and others.
Unified in solidarity, we generate dialogue
and understanding. And with dignity and decency
bridge the whitewashed chasm of suppression.
For in the end, my friends, it all boils down to the beauty
of our diversity in which we are all one and the same.
And like plants, from the moment we emerge from the dark
we lean towards the light and radiate.
Painting: Source
