Right now, I am at Governor's School on the campus of Salem College. A few days ago, a man named Darryl Hunt came to speak to us about his life. Mr. Hunt was sentenced to life in prison at the age of 19 for a murder that he did not commit. Through continued injustice and racism in the judicial system he remained in prison for 19 years even though his innocence was clearly shown and the prosecution's case was obviously flawed. Having him speak to us about this was an amazing experience, and for many people here, a shocking one. We discussed it in one of my classes, and many people expressed their shock, anger, gratitude, and in some cases hopelessness regarding Mr. Hunt's speech and the justice system in our country. After the discussion, our teacher told us that she had a poem that she always read when she was feeling hopeless, to dispel those feelings and stay strong. She read it to us, and then we left the class in silence. Here is the poem she shared with us:
By: Audre Lorde
For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children's mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours:
For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother's milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.
And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive
For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children's mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours:
For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother's milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.
And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive
I fell in love with this poem the first time I heard it and I took it straight to my philosophy class. That day we were supposed to bring in something we thought was beautiful, and explain why we thought it was beautiful. So I shared this poem, and I said it was beautiful because it's about fear. Everyone in the world has fear of something. I think my greatest fear is of instability and change. But the best experiences we have are sometimes those that we reach by doing something we are afraid of. I think this poem also speaks more specifically to people whose fear is present in the simple fabric of their life, who are often truly not safe or secure. The author, Audre Lorde, was a lesbian, African-American woman who used her poetry to fight against the discrimination and marginalization she faced because of the various aspects of who she was. She truly spoke from her own life when she wrote, So it is better to speak/remembering/we were never meant to survive.
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More information on Audre Lorde and her works:
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