I once asked a Native Hawaiian woman
What she did for a living
She paddles canoes
Because that’s what her people do.
They live on islands
Between the immensity of the sky
Above them
And the immensity of the ocean
Between them.
They salute the sun
Every morning
And spend years
Learning to read
The shades of the sun
That tell them
The difference between
Safe and unsafe crossings.
These days, I too know
That if people were to ask me,
What am I doing in life?
My response is pre-destined
By the people I was born into:
I walk in life,
Because that’s what the Hmong people
Used to do.
Having crossed the ocean,
I still walk, for justice,
Because that’s what my people need.
We live in Pan Asian villages
Between the immensity of the Western world
Beneath us
And the immensity of Western culture
Around us.
I salute the spirit of my communities
And am spending my years
Learning how to read
The shades of their dreams,
Shaping the wave
That will take us all
To a true American shore
Of peace, justice and equality.
No comments:
Post a Comment