Participation—the need:
- to act/for action
- to be involved
- to engage
- to respond…
has been a persistent feeling and thought/theme for me for a while. A thread weaving through various offerings, i.e,
Recently—primarily regarding current and world affairs—this persistent feeling has run parallel with me feeling that I don’t have the energy, bandwidth, nor desire to engage. A dichotomy which has caused internal debate.
Nothing can be changed until it is faced
As I’ve been having this internal debate, this James Baldwin quote, seen in the stairwell of the Hayward Gallery, has been coming to mind.
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
James Baldwin – New York Times, January 14, 1962, Section T, Page 11
When it comes to global conflict, crisis, injustice and everything between and beyond, I don’t always know what part I can play. Partly because there is so much happening that it can become overwhelming and also soul destroying—holding on to hope and my belief in humanity has been a challenge.
But I can’t release myself from my belief that I should do what I can and respond. Nor do I think I will ever want to, dichotomy of feelings or not.
How I respond may change according to context, season, energy levels etc., but I believe I have a responsibility to respond to some of what my eyes and soul is witnessing.
Playing My Part
In March, I attended an Apples and Snakes online poetry workshop, TWENTY-SEVEN, facilitated by Koko Brown. Koko opened the session with an excerpt from Michaela Coel’s, Misfits: A Personal Manifesto
We’re all gonna die. Instead of standing here, wishing for the good ol’ glory days, about the way life used to be before Mark Zuckerberg graduated, I’m going to try to be my best; to be transparent; and to play whatever part I can, to help fix this house. What part will you play?
Michaela Coel – Misfits: A Personal Manifesto
The closing line caused me to reach for my pen.
‘What part will you play?’
was written on my almost blank page; written beneath, ‘Apples and Snakes – Koko B’
In recent years, many of my poems have begun with a line or words heard in conversation or something I was listening to or viewing. So even before Koko offered ‘what part will you play?’, as one of two poetry prompt options, I knew something would be coming from that line. The other prompt was, ‘A Manifesto for Eve’ (Eve of the Bible).
When it was time to put pen to page, the following is what came out.
So what will your part be?
Optional extras:
- A more extensive look at and reflection James Baldwin, courtesy of the Poetry Foundation.