LOVE IS WITHIN US ALL

LOVE IS WITHIN US ALL

All day long I'd been listening 

To the guests badmouth my family

Posturing for position in the pack

By trying to be the most callous

And clever in their put downs

Of my gay brother and my black sister

Whose competence they dismiss 

I bit my tongue as I cooked our meals

Stirring into the food the prayer

That it would not only fill our bellies 

But also help us open our hearts

And heal the illusion of separation

So that we might find value

In even the most despised parts of ourselves

After night finally fell I wept

Not for the underdogs who are unafraid to feel

But for the overdogs trapped in their minds

Which mistake force for strength

And dominance for power

Unaware that the wolf best at initiating play

Is the true leader

When I awoke in the morning

To a neighbor who had fallen calling for help

We all responded with our own form of competence

As they used their strength to carry him upstairs

I used my power to protect him with a blanket

And reassure him with lightheartedness

In his crisis of weakness and fear

Heading home in the light

Of the new rising sun

I found I was grateful

For the opportunity to serve

This world from the inside out

So that in knowing the pain of separation

I may heal into wholeness and open

The possibility that we might find

Our way home to the heart

Of God within us all