Easy come, easy go.....yup, that is how it's been this week. Oy. I really don't know if that means I suck at this challenge of mine, or if things are just that odd right now, but there it is. OK, so today represents the last two days' worth of writing about healing neighborhoods.
Frankly, it seems like we have a long way to go. This week, there's been an (allegedly) accidental shooting in Minnesota, and a few others around this country. I just don't understand it. No....actually, I do understand it. All too well.
Day 13:
Lessons from home
a small town, a good town,
a town unknown,
where everybody's business was seldom their own,
and everyone knew
who'd done what to whom,
and nobody talked about it outside their own living room.
everyone was the same
and they talked like they prayed,
all day,
and the placed blame
on a crowd of mysterious "they"
in this sleepy little town with no name.
i left there- i couldn't stay,
i just had to get away,
and see the big places full of "they"
and understand the reasons why everyone was afraid,
or if it was just their way.
and i found reasons,
and seasons,
and people believing
different things without receiving
simple credit for being,
living and breathing.
and now i know
why my small home
tried so hard to watch the way kids grow
into adults who worry about if they go
elsewhere,
and learn about the things small towns don't want you to know.
I don't often dabble in a more lyric style, but that one sort of came to me, and well, this is about experimentation, after all, so there we go. Admittedly, this week has been about the struggle to understand neighbors, and their differences from one another. That is an important step in healing, for sure, but it's not the only step. I touched on it the other day: it's about more than accepting, it's about making a choice to actively participate and welcome others into your life, and let them know that those differences do not matter in the grander scope of things: what matters is our humanity. So that is what is inspiring this last day of looking at neighborhoods. And I will take a moment here. I LOVE my neighborhood. I love the fact that it is very diverse. even though I may not appreciate my neighbor playing his music too loud for my tastes, I still love the fact that I live in an area where, despite difference, everyone mostly gets along ok. I am lucky.
Day 14:
Pressure Test
they shut the water off today,
the whole street -
repairs were needed,
and everyone came out of their houses.
the house across the way,
where Boomer lives,
and the house next door with Granny,
the house down the street where White Cadillac lives -
everyone's nickname comes from their car-
the kids are outside,
the adults too
white, black, poor, those with schooling and those without -
we all live here.
we all feel it when tragedy strikes a house,
and i have seen strangers be kind
and loving towards one another,
and witnessed the shock of those who
never thought anyone cared about them,
just from neighbors treating each other well.
and we may not know each others' names,
but if you live here,
you're a part of it,
if you want to be.
and as long as you try to be nice,
you'll be greeted with smiles
and help if you need it.
and when they shut off the water to do work,
everyone steps outside
and greets one another
like friends - and neighbors.
That's a true story. If this last year has taught us nothing else, it taught us that this neighborhood is pretty great. It has its problems, too, but it is pretty great.
Thanks for reading,
Me.
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