Contact us at: whispernthunder1@gmail.comWill this Years Calendar Bring Hope?
~ Mellody Gotwalt
December has run off, and January sits
in its place. The winds are colder, and
the blanket I had for years has gone
missing with the rest of my belongs
while I was at the park this morning.
Here in the banks of the wash, some of
my temporary neighbors are huddling
near each other: their belongs have disappeared as well. We share the food we have gotten during the day. I got a can of pasta, a granola bar, and some applesauce. These are enough for two and I share it with Miss D, a 69-year-old lady who has lived here for the last year. She passes me one of her two Pop-Tarts, so we are both set for breakfast tomorrow also. It has been a good day for food, but the cold nags at my back. Still, Miss D. and I share a large cardboard box to sleep and we will survive the night.
A tale from a typical day from just one of the homeless folks I met this week. Human beings so often neglected, ignored or worse, and in these days made worse off by government policies that work against their attempts at survival. Many among us, worry that if we lift our voice, we might find ourselves under suspicion or worse, losing our possessions and becoming included in the numbers of the homeless.
If we continue in silence, we share in a portion of the guilt.
It is not just the plight of the homeless, but other harms that happen across our lands. Without those who stand for truth and humanity, the harmful policies will continue. I have not forgotten history, or the cost ancestors paid to take a stand. The choice lies between honoring our ancestors and rising like them with strong backs in support of what is right, or falling down and quietly accepting what harms may occur because we remember the past and how those efforts then were futile. There is no denying that it is a hard choice, and each of us must answer our children to explain our decisions. In either case that we may choose, I hope all of us will support the brave ones who are willing to speak truth and face the ire of the strong ones. These are today’s heroes.