Intergenerational Poem: Where I Come From
— presented to the Voice of Witness group, March 2022 in response to:
Where do you come and what is your identity?
From dust to dust
Filled with spirit briefly
Dying from the moment of birth
Living with cancer
Multiple myeloma
Treatable but not curable
Progression-free at the moment
Cancer-drug side-effects troublesome
Prognosis uncertain
Death knocks at my door
As it knocks at your door
Nevertheless
I live as fully as possible
As long as possible
A human being
Nothing more
Nothing less
Trying to make the most of my time
Trying to reverse humanity’s downward spiral
Trying to spread commitment to compassion and justice
Planting seeds for a global moral humanity movement
Cultivating a world that serves humanity, the environment, and life itself
Trying to be a better human being
Trying to avoid demonizing others
Trying to be a more effective activist
Trying to learn, learn, learn
Taking care of myself so I can better serve others
Loving the universe
Communing with Mother Nature
Enjoying life
Promoting Truth, Justice, and Beauty
Three sides of the same coin
Looking for more soul mates on the same path
Soul mates who don’t
Always
Ask, What’s in it for me?
Soul mates who realize they’re not the point
Humanity is the point
Life is the point
Looking for soul mates who protect life
Protect the planet
Relieve suffering
Eliminate the causes of preventable suffering
Soul mates who
Identify as a member of the human race
Looking for more soul mates who do the right thing
Organize, educate, agitate
Push, push, push
Take chances
Nurture peace
Holistic democracy
Human rights
Civil rights
Economic rights
Labor rights
Voting rights
Environmental sustainability
Democratic equality
Compassion and justice
Everyone’s infinite value
Demand Washington respect the will of the people
And establish economic security and justice for all
Looking for soul mates who are true to themselves
True to their higher angels
Soul mates who
Live the way they want everyone to live
And recognize others will do the same
Soul mates who are humble
Make judgments without being judgmental
Refrain from assuming moral superiority
Soul mates who neither dominate nor submit
Who know how to be a partner
Co-equal
With mutual respect
Soul mates who listen as much as they talk
Soul mates on the same path
Who seek the Beloved Community
Help each other unlearn divisive social conditioning
Internalized oppression
That undermines unity
Soul mates who are simply a human being
Enspirited flesh
Enfleshed spirit
Seeking, seeking
Always seeking
As death knocks at the door
Whether or not
You know it
--Wade Lee Hudson