Empath

It scares me,

Breaks my heart.

I am white,

I feel shame,

About racism.

Why do I care?

It’s institutionalized:

I’ve experienced discrimination,

But never because of colour.

I’m white privileged—

It makes me sick,

Face screws up in disgust.

Nothing to do but:

Emphasise with the oppressed,

And cultivate kindness:

An abundance of corn,

Feeding everyone,

To help them grow,

Hearts of gold.

We see colour,

In rainbows, trees, skies, wildlife.

Some have favourite colours,

Judging by feelings they bring,

More than superficial reasons.

Why judge people by skin colour,

Rather than character content?

They shot Martin Luther King

But his good can’t be taken.

We love a blue sky,

But we would miss:

Charcoals;

Streaks;

Rose golds;

Ambers;

Yellows;

Burnt orange;

Indigos;

Purples;

Onyx

Sunrises show shimmery surprises—

Sunsets set several streaky scenes.

One colour does not do the skies character justice,

So why allow one colour to define a person?

We love a turquoise sea,

What about water with no colour,

Where you see starfish,

Without having to go under?

We don’t complain whether oceans,

Are green or blue.

What if we avoided swimming in parts,

Because they were different shades?

We don’t care: its water.

The same principle should apply:

We don’t care: their humans.

All adore autumn arrays,

Peaceful piercing palettes:

Red;

Burnt orange;

Yellow;

Green;

Amber;

Brown.

For them to not contrast?

Like the wind we’d blast—

Spring brings blessed blossom,

If we pulled pink,

But worshiped white,

We’d think it not right.

We love summers warmth,

But we would yearn:

Autumns earthiness;

Winters crispness;

Springs softness.

All seasons have simplicity and detail,

We witness them at their lightest and darkest.

We learn to live on many different landscapes,

So let’s learn to live with and love one another.