Writing Justice On Our Hearts
This past Sunday we gathered as a church community on zoom for a virtual coffee hour to process all that is happening in our country. Jean Dany, our poet in residence, offered a recitation on his haiku poem “No Room to Breathe” which you can listen to here.
Below is the text:
No Room to Breathe
America why?
With such abundance of wealth
But lack of justice
The grand jury speaks
Ferguson calls for the guards
Black folks are concerned
The news is all out
The cop is free to move on
I weep in silence
Protests erupt all over
Come on Lord, why this again?
A bitter verdict!
Black lives matter too
What do we tell the children?
Is that justice?
What were you thinking?
My lawyer friend says
That’s the way it is
There was Rodney King
And also Trayvon Martin
Then Eric Gardner
No justice no peace
It ain’t our nation’s first
It’s a mad disease
Here is the struggle
My hands are up please don’t shoot
I can’t trust no more
They care for their kind
That’s the way the game is played
It ain’t racism
No justice no peace
One more protest is scheduled
Blacks are humans too
My son asks again
How did I do at his age?
My fear chucks my words
This divided line
Isolates folks on both sides
Blacks and Whites equal
I’ve seen enough tears
And suffering on faces
How far can this go?
Stop shifting the blame
Some say blacks too are racist
Let’s just get along
You can’t kill them all
Memories don’t just vanish
Justice is the way
But make no mistake
Even the sun needs a break
This too will soon stop
Power comes and goes
And its wheels for sure do spin
Time doesn’t matter
Some truly don’t know
But comfort in the system
Does silence many
Wake up God’s people
Yes for sure, that day will come
For equality
Yes, we do have laws
I wish everyone could know
They don’t work for all
Lord that pain again
Is it rage or repression?
Please tame my anger
Amen? Amen. He has invited us into this spiritual practice of writing poetry, to be co-creators of this art demanding justice, full of love, anger, and grief. Below is a sampling of what some members of First Church in Cambridge have shared so far:
Sorrow beyond words
The breath taken from our souls
Waiting for justice
Freedom is water
Fish of the deep do not see
The cyclone above
Darkness falls with rage
Pain so deep and so searing
Smoke rises to God
I cannot breathe now.
I am oppressed like George Floyd.
Dear God help me breathe.
A public lynching
Launches a wave of protest
To insist on change
This is just a sample of what is to come. The invitation is extended. Will you join us?
Submissions of haikus can be made by using the Contact Us page or by emailing us directly at lexi@firstchurchcambridge.org.
How was this experience of writing for you?