Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Crip Blessings: A Poem for a Race and Disability Seminar


A poem for my students
inspired by the Spring 2019 syllabus
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May you question what’s wrong with perfect 

But always try to do better.

May you change the world

But never so much that we lose the power to evolve and grow.

May you turn and face the strange

Even when that strangeness is your own future.

May you journey far into other world

And learn to see the other in the self.

May you stand up for the outcast

But beware of desire that turns into hellfire.

May you love your hands, your feet, your face

Enough to be able to face the past that lives with us.

May you be big enough to care for the small,

And small enough to see the magic in the world.

May you call out abuse and oppression

But always out of love that goes beyond yourself.

May you not be afraid of your own monstrosity

But never lose the ability to accept care when you need it.

May you find allies in the most unlikely of places

As we consider the past and dream of a better future together.

May we never forget the discarded parts of our lives and families,

Because they may ever come back hungry for better.

May we dream with our eyes wide open,

But never so much that we cannot perceive truth from lies.

May we find ways to survive even the worst of times,

And find support that will not take advantage of us in our moment of need.

May you follow and grow in your genius,

Without taking ourselves out of the contexts of our world.



May you reject moral apathy, intellectual laziness, and boredom,

As you focus on the elements of goodness, truth, and beauty around us.

May you walk away from this class learning something of how to learn

And keep it with you as you become more yourself in the years to come.

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