No One Said It Would Be Easy
/(written May 14, 2016)
No one said it would be easy
to listen
to one
who knows the world
from another side.
No one said it would be easy
to honor what you know,
that he doesn’t want to see.
No one said it would be easy
to be confronted
with your blind spots,
unknown
or well-guarded.
No one said it would be easy
to let go of a few
of your thousand
points of privilege,
the ones that feel like anchors,
even briefly,
and step
(freely?)
into the sea of vulnerability.
No one said it would be easy
to admit that you like
the warm sand
of privilege,
the luxury of
forgetting,
even as your friends cannot.
No one said it would be easy.
Why should it be?
Why should it be easy for you
when so many cannot choose?
Step out
of the comfort,
toe-dip into the
cold,
difficult,
unknown,
scary.
Wade in,
up to the calves,
the waist,
don’t stop until you’re breast-deep.
It’s only worth it when your heart is submerged.
Reach out your hand
to steady him or you,
you may not know.
You are not alone.
Push into the depths
until your feet don’t touch.
Swim
together.
Save
each other.
No one said it would be easy.