if I watch them run
I wait until it’s over
then think of breathing
c l couch
photo by Selma DA SILVA on Unsplash
racially speaking
the world
is of races
and is racist
now
how did we pull that off
I suppose because
we approach another people
ready
to take power
and impose it
as if
power were ours
and not lent from God
and for God’s judgment
later
I approach another color
and see
fascination
then
I hear it
but who am I
naïve
I guess
to find a thrill in meeting someone else
who clearly is not me
while racially I’m fine with me
but
I know my race and color
and here is someone who’s not me
whole
land’s worth
in fact
and isn’t that
terrific
and clearly as a world
we have not come
to feel that way
common
ancestry notwithstanding
and
could we not apply our art and science
our proclivities toward vision
our skills in
observation
with reception of each other based
on vision
sure
(and sure)
observation
goodness
there are stories
folks
of folks
and should that not be
grand occupation
that’s races
anyway
next
time maybe taking up religion
c l couch
I was looking for an image to accompany a verse on Gaza and, based on my selection, was shown all sorts of pictures of all sorts of people—the theme the site selected between them all was water—and the diversity, of the parts of our planet as well, got me thinking
photo by Dibakar Roy on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
White Lawns
x
“You’re Pastor Jennings?”
x
Uyghur
Rohingya
Armenians
Boznians
And Pastor Jennings
We seem to hate them all
x
But here we have our white lawns
That we pour white on
Through our sprinklers,
And we call police
When something not quite right white
Has come along
x
C L Couch
x
x
“Watering while Black: Anatomy of a Pastor’s Alabama Arrest” by Jay Reeves of The Associate Press for 1 September 2022.
x
Photo by Padma Hazarika on Unsplash
Water drops in the hand of an 8 years boy.
[original caption with the addition of an n by the English teacher]
x
(x = space)
x
x
Hebrews 12
x
it’s all right to run a race
it’s all right to win
it’s all right not to win,
which happens to most
in the experience
x
it’s all right to want a prize
running a race is hard
not to mention training
and practicing
your prize is in heaven
might not sound good enough
not satisfying
but it’s true
there is a prize for each of us
for all of us
by heaven
x
keep running
yes, with discipline
also with rest
and if possible
with joy,
Mister Liddell
x
C L Couch
x
x
(photo by) KarlGaff – own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113379539
x
Myriad
(watching it on TV)
“sorry, kid”
Wilson College to a Black woman wanting to attend and qualified, until the interview
“dream deferred”
going into Woolworth’s
I liked Woolworth’s
singing while being arrested
Rich’s Department Store
“it wasn’t about the food anyhow”
Morris Brown College
“I can be smart, I can have curly hair, I can be whatever I want to be”
student at Spellman
it’s so exciting to hear young Black people, excited
FAMU
#HBCURising
(plot)
I don’t want to do anything to
You know, intrude
But I’m so thrilled
Because I’m a stupid person, I guess
Untrained in the ways of prejudice
If there’s a better choice, it’s so easy to make
It goes something like
Of course, of course, of course
I never learned to hate someone whose
Skin color was not my own
I know my own, it’s dull
I find other skin colors so interesting
It’s marvelous—I can’t do that!
I suppose some will call me traitor
Probably do
I suppose I do not care
Except for sadness that the myriad
Cannot be loved
Have I been passed over so that
A Black woman could be preferred
Probably
Yes
I understand
I mean, I want work, too
And I know I didn’t start it
But really
What does it take for anyone to get a job
It should be the work
But I find too many places with those who
Do not care in the wrong way
(benediction)
Get them up, then
Those who need the rising
Rise over me
That’s all right
Don’t worry, anything I might feel by way of
Patronizing is compensated by the pain
Of loss
But it’s not only my own
It’s yours
And I’m sorry
For a change, let’s all take the chance
To bleed
C L Couch
Tell Them We Are Rising | History & Impact of Historically Black … – PBS
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/tell-them-we-are-rising/ Tell Them We Are Rising explores pivotal role historically black colleges & universities (HBCUs) have played over 150 years in American history and identity.
Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and … – IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333094/ A haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries-and path of promise toward the American dream-Black colleges and universities have educated the …
A black man goes into the “colored” entrance of the Crescent Movie Theatre in Belzoni, Mississippi, 1939.
Marion Post Wolcott – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ppmsca.12888.
What Happened to Wonder Bread
To my shame, I used to ask for it
As if the store-brand bread were not enough
Admittedly, this other kind was softer
I enjoyed biting it
Sometimes making little doughballs out
Of a slice
I think that it became a racial epithet
In color, it was truly white
Too bad, though I think the product still is made
And epithets, they change
The spite remains the same
Regarding colors of all kind
Too bad
We really are more interesting than
Spat-out words
I don’t blame anyone
I blame everyone
Except maybe the hungry child
Who was entering the world
C L Couch
By uploaded by Koman90 at en.wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by SreeBot., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16895471
Wonder Bread company logo (part)
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