Just Love

Just Love

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They all had to die, before I could live

I was a child suffering under ignorance and bigotry

They all had to die, before I could live

I was a martyr holding my breath, my words and my own beliefs

When I was a child: Running in the night, afraid of what might be

they’d turn my hopes to hell and punish me~

Running up that hill, I escaped their fate and I escaped their hate

Staying true to my own mind, I built a new home and a new life

Where love reigned free,

Where my heart could lead~

Look at me standing here, an elephant never forgets

Shed a tear, shed a tear,

No black, no white, not even a shade between,

I am color blind, with an open mind

and they can’t change me, they can’t scare me,

they can’t force me to be anything

…but me.

They taught me wrong from right, left from right,

but I know what is truly right, the only thing that is left,

compassion

humanity

empathy

mercy

dirty words in white chalk smearing an old blackboard,

in a broken down classroom…

Will we ever learn

not to repeat history,

not to carry on beliefs that bring violence

or hearts full of silence?

I see, I hear, I feel and I believe

I’ve listened to lies, and witnessed no justice,

And after so long, only the soul knows what’s true;

No filters, no spin, no convenient twists or hidden conspiracies

Just resonance,

just tolerance,

just peace

Hate has to die, before we can live

and …Just Love.

~ Christine Wichman c. August 13, 2017