Poem

One of the themes that seems to be running throughout my summer is of isolation: Peace makers feel isolated, people feel isolated from God, those with HIV/AIDs feel isolated from support and help, I have often felt a sense of isolation in my life which prompted me to write this:

Isolation
When you are not chosen
When you are labled
tall
short
fat
slow
diseased...
When no matter how you try
you fall short...of the expectations
you have of yourself

When you feel you are the only one who is
tall
short
fat
slow
diseased
Isolation eats at the DNA which
binds us together
with one another
until we are unraveled, unnoticed

Isolation is taught
by those who want us to
forget our worth
so they can rule
the world we try to feel a part of.
Isolation is an illusion, a deception, a lie
We can never be isolated
community is woven into who we are

So the next time someone calls you
tall
short
fat
slow
diseased
Clobber them with truth
YOU are not a label
YOU are not a number
YOU are not a disease
YOU are not a sexual preference
YOU are... in fact:
BELOVED
BEAUTIFUL
BOUND TOGETHER
with a Creator who
HAS chosen us to love
one another with all our hearts, minds, and strength
One day at a time.
SPM2007