States of Unitedness
Gradations of me;
Increments of knowledge
Of the self, and of you.
I want to hold your hand,
And you can hold my heart;
My brother, my sister,
Of my blood and marrow
Or of my thoughts alone—
No matter the bond,
Only the harmony,
The attainment of unitedness.
Give me the freedom
And I you
To grasp the widest reaches
To grow the greatest loves;
My father, my mother, my lover;
The other me, the me in other.
You of my brown-ness or my
whiteness;
You of my blackness and my sands,
Oh, the infinitesimal sands,
That bind us even when apart,
Shifting, sliding, swirling
As if we mustn’t ever join,
But we do.
Yes,
In gradations.
Yes yes yes yes because we must,
Because we owe it.
Each grade, each state, each place
Its own, and ours—
When we choose.
The spheres align sometimes
And perfect facets form similitude,
So hands can touch,
Arms embrace.
Or not.
J.C. Salazar
J.C. Salazar grew up in Houston,
where he still resides, the child of immigrant parents. He earned degrees in
English (BA), linguistics (MS), and literature (MA) from the University of
Houston and UH-Clear Lake. He also completed doctoral courses in English at UH.
J.C. is a lifelong educator and community activist, who loves great stories,
language, and writing. Of Dreams & Thorns is his debut novel, inspired by
his immigrant family and community. He hopes you love reading it as much as he
loved writing it. "states of unitedness" is his collection of poems
in which the author expresses the need for all human beings to love one another
and our responsibility to care for each other while also striving to reach our
full potential.
Tags:
Poetry