#acceptance

MORE LIKE THE RAIN

 

Is it odd or is it the way our creators meant for it to be?

How the stars, the moon and the sun shine down on you…as well as me.

 

How we all breathe the same air…

observer the same sunsets…wake up to similar morning lights

whether we choose to celebrate Christmas day…or Hanukkah for 8 nights.

 

How the oceans, the lakes…the rivers and the streams invite everybody in…

no matter what sex we are…our gender…or the color of our skin.

 

How the trees provide shade and shelter each and every day

to those who don’t believe in God…and those who to different Gods will pray.

 

How the rain does not distinguish as if falls from up above…

If we are Jewish, Muslim, Catholic…or who, in life, we love.

 

Which makes one wonder…doesn’t it?

How much our world would truly gain….

If we were all as generous…

as accepting…

as the sun

the trees

the rain.

 
View joy's Full Portfolio

TWO SPIRITS

 

 

A young girl and young boy knelt down before the elder…

Their heads were bowed…their faces ashen…

They came in search of the elders guidance…his wisdom…and compassion.

 

The girl spoke first:

“Some days I feel like a girl.” She said. “And some days I feel like a boy… 

both of these, to me, are real.”

 

The boy looked into the elders eyes:

“That’s exactly how I feel!”

 

The elder nodded at the children and said:

“Long ago our creator took an oath

to create those who could see through the eyes of a boy

those who could see through the eyes of a girl…

and a few chosen ones…who could see through the eyes of both.”

 

“You are called two-spirit children…because our creator knew

those of us who could only see through the eyes of one spirit…

needed those who could see through the eyes of two.”

 

The elder told the girl and boy to stand up then announced,

“In you we’ve found two gems.”

He smiled…placed his hands together…and then bowed down to them.

 

And these two children were revered the older and older they grew

for possessing the wisdom and the knowledge of not one spirit…

but the wisdom and knowledge…of two.

 

(This story is not fantasy…it’s origins run deep…it’s message strong…

It was the belief of the indigenous people who were on this land before us…

until we told them…it was wrong)

 

I think it’s time we celebrate two-spirits again…the time for hatred is done…

It’s time we realize…as a wise people once realized…

two spirits see better than one.

View joy's Full Portfolio

THE KIND OF WORLD I'D LIKE TO SEE

 

May we be blessed some day 

some day soon I pray

 

to live in a world

where we can see into each other’s heart

where our differences bring us closer together

instead of driving us apart.

View joy's Full Portfolio

WHY WE STILL DON'T CARE

 

I’m revisiting an old poem…call it a form of poetic cheating…

but I believe this old poem has a message worth repeating:

 

When each of our three children and four grandchildren were born…

we celebrated the day...

 

Back then, we didn’t care about their gender…

if they were bi

or straight

or gay.

 

We only cared they were alive...had all their body parts...

that they were breathing on their own...and came with healthy hearts.

 

As they’ve grown we continue to celebrate them a little every day..

and we care about them but we do not care…

if they are bi

or straight

or gay.

 

We only care that they are close to us...that in their lives...we play a part

that they all have gentle souls...and kindness in their hearts

 

Our reason is quite simple...and to this we both avow

If we didn’t care when they were born...

Why...would we care now?

View joy's Full Portfolio

UMBUNTU

 

There was an anthropological study conducted on the children of an African tribe…

that I shall attempt as best I can…in this poem…to now describe.

 

A basket of fruit was placed under a tree…the children told to be fast and resolute

because the first one to the basket gets to eat all of the fruit.

 

When they were told RUN!..they didn’t run at first…instead like birds of a feather

each child took the hand of the child next to them…then they ran to the basket…together.

 

They smiled as they ran together…fast and resolute

together they reached the basket…and together…they ate the fruit

 

When asked why they chose to run that way…”UBUNTU” said one lad…

while another added, “How can any one of us be happy…if any one of us is sad?”

 

In South Africa the word UBUNTU…means ‘I am because we are’

It’s a belief we’re defined by our compassion and our kindness towards others…

and its meaning travels far

 

for every culture, every civilization…across the land, the sky, and every sea

has a word with a similar meaning…In America…it’s humanity.

 

It’s a simple word…humanity…that, like UBUNTU, has allure…a definite attraction

but it remains only a word…until we put it into action.

 

I’m glad to see so many cultures have their own UBUNTU as part of their folklore…

I think, however, the entire world…need to practice their UBUNTU a little more.

 

We need to spread humanity so our UBUNTU travels far….

We need to teach the world UBUNTU…'I am because we are’.

 

I hope someday we follow the example of the children…

who understood they could be fast and resolute…

but only when they joined hands…together…

could they all enjoy the fruit.

View joy's Full Portfolio

THE CHOICE IS YOURS

 

I am a human being…just like you…

You needn’t know my name.

and though we are all a little different…we are all humans just the same.

 

Speaking not just for myself but for the human species…if I may

none of us choose to be humans…we are born this way.

 

None of us can change that fact…it is how we were created.

In fact…the fact we are all humans should be cherished and celebrated.

 

I did not choose to me a man or a woman…

the color of my skin…if I was straight or trans or gay…

It is part of the human being I am…I was born this way.

 

But when you hate me for who I am…

when you call me names…

when you say I’m a mistake…

however you come to this decision…this is a choice you choose to make.

 

When you ignore or prohibit my existence…

when you don’t see me…for me…

when you intentionally hurt me or any other human being…

you hurt all humanity… 

 

So here’s a gentle reminder…

if hate is controlling your inner voice….

this is truly your mistake…

because love is also a choice

you can choose to make

View joy's Full Portfolio

PUTTING TWO WORLDS TOGETHER

 

 

For 39 years I learned from the students with Autism I was teaching.

and the most important lesson I learned…by far

was how the true greatness of a person can be judged

by how they treat those they see as different…who to them seem a little bizarre.

 

When we would leave the safety of our classroom and venture into the community

many times we were faced with anger…with prejudice and bigotry.

 

With an anger fueled by fear strangers would walk up to me and say, 

“Those people don’t belong in here..please…take them away.”

 

But the more I faced such animosity…the more I felt compelled

not only to teach my students about the world…

but to teach the world about my students as well.

 

I knew education was important to both worlds…for it is no mystery

how ignorance leads to fear…fear to prejudice…and prejudice to bigotry.

 

I knew understanding who a person is…the reasons for what they say and do…

is the key…initially to tolerance…and eventually acceptance too.

 

I knew by bringing two worlds together…when the educating is done…

we reach a point where we realize…we are not two worlds…but one.

 

And with a little understanding and compassion one world is where we co-exist…

where no one should ever be disparaged…belittled…or dismissed.

 

Our world is made up of people who are different from us…differences we cannot hide…but when we take the time to learn about each other…to look beyond our differences…we can see the human beings inside.

 

Allowing my students to experience my world…was my goal…my desire…my aim

and I discovered the more people who learned about my students…

the more accepting they became. 

 

Perhaps that is something to remember……

as our country continues highlighting all our differences…

as we continue to argue..to fight…to spar…

How the true greatness of a nation can be judged

by how it treats those who they see as different…

who to them seem a little bizarre.

View joy's Full Portfolio

UNDERSTANDING

 

He cannot see the sun…although he feels it on his back…

He cannot see the stars or the moon…for his world is painted black.

 

She cannot listen to the nightingale sing…or hear footsteps on the ground…

She does not know her mother’s voice…for her world is lacking sound.

 

He cannot climb the stairs…or jump high into the air…

He cannot walk or run…while confined to his wheelchair.

 

And we wonder how this is possible?

How did this come to be?

and what must life be like for those so different from you…and me.

 

So we attempt to come together without making too much of a fuss…

and we try to share our world with them…as they share their world with us.

 

With our friends who cannot see…we will be each other’s crutch…

as we explain the world we see…and they reveal the beauty there is in touch.

 

With our friends who cannot hear we find a way to understand…

We will learn to speak with one another…by talking with our hands.

 

With our friends who are in wheelchairs…we find a common goal…

we will show them how to rock…if they show us how to roll.

 

And though we’ll never truly understand each other…it’s enough to know we care…

as we slowly begin to realize…despite our differences…there is so much that we share.

 

And so we wonder…after experiencing our different worlds together…

and having so much fun…

If this kind of acceptance and understanding…would work for everyone.

 

Perhaps, then, we wouldn’t let our different countries, 

different backgrounds…

different colors…

different beliefs…

create in us so much discord

so much pain…and so much grief.

 

What if the things that make us different…

instead of being feared and hated and banned…

what if the things that  make us different 

are just different things to understand?

 
View joy's Full Portfolio

DO YOU KNOW ME?

 

 

This poem is dedicated to anyone who has ever felt the agony and pain of prejudice…

who have been left battered and beaten and scarred….

and to those who have inflicted that pain…

for you both know who you are.

 

DO YOU KNOW ME?

 

Do you know me?

Like every human I am made up of chromosomes and genes.

Yet, I am told I am not normal…and I don’t know what that means.

 

Do you know me?

I use to wake up every morning as happy as a clam…

glad to be alive knowing who I am…is…who I am.

 

Do you know me?

I was so happy with who I am and the way my life unfurled…

until I took my first steps into a cruel and heartless world.

 

Do you know me?

It was here my view of normal got distorted and confused…

for out here I have been made fun of, punched, spit upon…abused.

 

Do you know me?

Some people look at me and think, to them, I am a threat!

I am even hated, yes hated, by people I’ve never met!

 

Do you know me?

I have been beaten, shot, stabbed, strung up and left hanging from a tree.

by people who want to kill me…just for being me.

 

Do you know me?

I have friends who have killed themselves…an action I cannot condemn.

for they have chosen to leave a world that wasn’t ready for them.

 

Do you know me?

Have you ever felt so lonely…so sad…so deep in darkness…

a way out you cannot see?

Have you ever contemplated different ways to end your misery. 

 

Do you know me?

Have you ever really looked at me…

ever stood where I have stood…

Have you ever tried to get to know me…

If not…oh how I wish you would.

 

For I am sure…all you out there who abuse me…who call me names…

once you get to know me…you will never feel the same.

View joy's Full Portfolio