States of Unitedness





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.

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