Juneteenth, today,
Why haven’t I heard before
Why the silence
Why a refusal to recognize
A lament for all I’ve missed
For all I’ve never known
For brushing off the bits of information that were there
Crumbs I thought
But more than crumbs, seeds
Juneteenth, today,
The cities are burning
The hearts are grieving
The injustices are rising
I repent of turning my back
Of wasted years
Of shouting platitudes
Thinking it was all about the heart
But we can’t wait for hearts when the system must change
Juneteenth, today,
May I keep reading the hard words
May I stand up and stand with
May I listen to the songs and the cries
Even when it’s dissonant
And my ears cringe
And the truth grates against my soul
For it isn’t that we can’t see the solution
It’s that we can’t see the problem
(G.K. Chesterton)
Juneteenth, today,
Will change come now
Will we risk law for righteousness
Will we risk order for justice
Seeing the humanity in the anger
Highlighting the good in the shouts
Fanning into flames the divine spark
Until it grows into an unstoppable conflagration
Until it burns out the old for the new growth
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