Justice Waits In The Space Between Words

This poem came from meditation at a time when conditions in our world weighed heavily on me.  LOL!  If only I had known the conditions we endure in this moment!  It feels like the time to revisit the poem.  We seek to tame the current of fear that rushes over imposing boulders springing up in our unconscious. So we flex our intellectual prowess in countless monologues across social media, in offices, living rooms and backyard gatherings.  We seek to blame and fix. In our love for justice we can continue our self-assigned role as “The Great White Fixers,” or we can practice waiting, listening more intentionally for the words of the oppressed.

We must act for justice, AND there is this from James Baldwin:

The root of the black man’s hatred is rage,
and he does not so much hate the white man
as simply as wants them out of his way,
and, more than that,
out of his children’s way.

 

James Baldwin I Am Not Your Negro

 

Silence

I hear my rapid thought-fire
Ricochet off your heart,
Creating a wall of words to
Keep me safe.

Wait.
Wait for the space
Between the thoughts
Between the words.

Wait.
Truth lives
In the Space Between

c. Rita H Kowats 7-18-2013