today i went outside
to say hello to my mother
who closes the distance between us
when i inhale and
exhale
new shadows a reminder of my father's absence
mother's sun moving
me wondering at the time
as if it mattered anyway
today i went inside
to find the smallest peace
of mind twisted and flat
against the back of my eyes
that look out at silent ground
there is so little
that separates me from the flower
the simple sister sitting still
under shaded brother tree
with arms that reach
the family i can touch
lean into
embrace
About the Creator
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Let's All Clap for the White Man
The White Savior Complex is sometimes accredited to Rudyard Kipling's The White Man's Burden, a poem espousing the moral obligations of white folks to civilize non-whites living in the darkest corners of the earth. Inspired by the Phillipine-American War, Kipling urges the White Man (sic) to exercise patience and fearlessness in meeting the needs of his captives, (in this case the Filipinos,) who are described as "Half devil and half child". It seems strange that an India-born White Man would describe his brown-bodied brethren in such a way; yet the roots of white supremacy run deep and does not require strength in numbers, and remember that his most famous work does center around a brown-bodied man-cub who was raised by wolves. And how lauded Kipling is today for having brought such humanity not only to the beloved animals of The Jungle Book, but to the uncivilized Mowgli as well.
By Ashley Mellinger4 years ago in The Swamp
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