Listen, Child

Child, there was a time when we did not know that the earth is alive and the sky is inside us.

It is hard to comprehend, child, that once there was a time when we believed we owned the soil, we had rights to the land, we could take from the earth whatever we desired.

Yes, it is hard to imagine, child, that there was a time when pale-skinned men looked down on ebony and mahogany brothers, as if they came from another womb.

There was a time when husbands owned wives as they owned land, as property; and a time when men who loved men and women who loved women hid their love, fearing exile and murder.

Child, there was a time when we slaughtered each other in the name of freedom; we slaughtered thousands daily and looked the other way, distracting ourselves with games.

It is painful, child, but you must hear: there was a time when a few of us lived in unspeakable luxury, devouring the labor of the poor. And every night, those few slept soundly, believing themselves to be a higher species of humanity, chosen for wealth by unearthly grace.

I tell the hard truth, child: there was a time when the hungry and the sick of heart wandered dark streets, homeless in a land of plenty, without a breath of welcome.

Listen to your grandfather's tears: there was a time when we did not know that the earth is alive and the sky is inside us.