It is time to awaken.
We have been sleeping far too long.
It seems as if truth no longer matters,
a subtle numbing,
drawing us further away from that which binds us.
I have walked the angry streets,
fist raised in fierce determination,
only to watch the protest cries fall
like stones upon the ground.
Now, these fingers rest softly against my side.
I cannot say that I have found an answer,
or a way to carry us all through
I cannot say the pain does not seep in,
knees buckling from the weight,
or that the air does not press heavy against the skin.
Frustration and fear surge up
like an endless wave inside my body.
Yet there are moments when I have stepped out of the dream,
beyond this place we have fallen into
I am not ready to say, we are done,
and turn back into the mindless habits of living.
For now,
awareness asks that I simply sit with myself
until the cry living inside
edges its way into something better.
— Karen Konrad (2005)
Posted: August 6, 2005