Strive to Understand

“When did the world become so black and white?” they ask.

Not knowing that is how it has always been.

There has always been a division of color,

But only one side has felt the effects,

And the other – doesn’t believe it exists.

How do we learn to change our ways?

Not with silence, not with demands.

It’s not up to them to tell us what we should already know.

The information has always been there.

It was a choice to leave it untouched,

Until suddenly it became a trend.

Are you defensive of your innocence?

Innocence is ignorance,

A choice not everyone is given.

“My skin doesn’t define me.”

Even in saying that I know I’m wrong.

Because of my skin I’ve been given

More things than I can imagine needing.

And even though I didn’t know then,

Didn’t know growing up that family isn’t always right,

That blood is not always thicker than water,

That what’s in your heart is so much more

Important than what’s in the media,

Still I’m ashamed that I was a part of the problem.

And that maybe I still am.

When I say, “My heart is in the right place,

I just want to help.”

Is that just to make myself feel better?

No; I believe in human decency,

And being part of moving the world forward.

I believe in equality.

But how is it that after all this time,

People still have different versions of what that means?

Do our leaders not realize that all humans bleed,

All humans think, speak, care,

We love, hate, laugh, cry – all the same.

And yet you believe some of us are worth more than others?

How could it be this hard?

Asking for myself, for those who came before,

And for those who will come after me,

Because I am afraid to raise my children

In a world that is so disgustingly judgmental,

And incomprehensibly divided.

I am sorry; sorry for my part, sorry for pain I haven’t felt,

Sorry for remaining in darkness for too long.

I can’t change the past,

I can’t change my skin,

But I can strive to understand,

And to stand with my fellow humans,

Because no one should feel like they are alone.

Hope is stronger than fear,

And I have hope for the future.

Hope for more level ground,

And understanding hearts.

Hope that this will not just be a trend,

But a movement that sparks

Real change, real growth,

Real equality, and real community.

Hope that we can somehow move forward

Knowing that we are all human,

And that in the end, nothing else should matter.