Dark clouds lurk at the horizon
Promising
I was hungry and you gave me food
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink
We are each but a moment away
From displacement and death
I was a stranger and you welcomed me
I was naked and you gave me clothing
A Fuel Tanker slides over the middle line
Edging to disaster
I was sick and you took care of me
I was in prison and you visited me
We are a greater whole
Diminished when others suffer
Copyright © 2020 Kim Whysall-Hammond
Written in response to the Earthweal challenge this week, where I learnt about the concept of Ubuntu. I had not realised that one of my heroes, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was influenced by Ubuntu in his work on reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa. A definition is below:
A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.
Of course some of the lines in this poem are from one of this planets great socialist thinkers. ;)
Great interweaving of two very pieces of writing !
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:)
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A great balancing act here. It’s easy to forget those powerful words, and you bring them right into the here and now with your own counterpoint. Thank you for sharing at earthweal.
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Thank you Sarah. It’s been a while since I did the Earthweal Challenge…….
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We are diminished when others suffer……that must be what lies at the heart of humanity’s disconnect these days – life has become too much about self, while others brely cling to life. Not how it was meant to be.
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Yes indeed!
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I like that fuel tanker…edging to disaster….the closing stanza is powerful!
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Thank you!
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Ubuntu and the originator of the words in italics – great connections. I so admire Archbishop Tutu!
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…and he has such an infectious laugh!
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Just brilliant. The dynamic between the two work so incredibly well.
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Thank you, that is much apprecaited.
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Wonderful juxtapositions. Yes…what would He do? (K)
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I love the way this poem is built on juxtaposition, Kim, and the ambiguity of the opening couplet: the dark clouds lurking at the horizon could be promising a welcome shower after drought or a destructive storm.
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Or nuclear winter…..
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Brilliant concept, enjoyed reading
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Thank you Christo.
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