Photo: Syd Wachs on Unsplash
They are twins but
They are not one
Being.
Identical, so many call them,
Breathless with
Duplicated magic.
But underneath the outward
Appearance
They are
Anything but.
Individually
Tempered
By the nuanced
Realities of who they
Really are.
For Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt: Nuance in 38 words
“We don’t go There,” Mama always warned. “Ever.”
“There” was beyond the fence. Where the embankment locked in perpetual shadows and where the yellow cliffs rose shining in the sun and where the scary things lived and mortal danger was certain to find you.
As a child I never questioned the relative flimsiness of the wire fence and how it possibly prevented such pervasive awfulness from invading the compound.
It wasn’t until much later that it occurred to me to wonder whether both the fence and its electric bite were there to keep us in.
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
All children want to play, including those with disabilities. However, the latter are all too often left out of playgrounds altogether, are rendered invisible to others who look through them or past them, or are bullied. This internationally acclaimed short movie, which is based on the true story of Ian, wordlessly and profoundly delivers the universal message about the inclusion and dignity to audiences young and old.
It is a must-see.
From a fabulous article about the movie from Respectability:
“All kids want to play. Kids with disabilities are no different. “Ian” is a short, animated film inspired by the real-life Ian, a boy with a disability determined to get to the playground despite his playmates bullying him. This film sets out to show that children with disabilities can and should be included.
“Ian” premiered for audiences around the world on YouTube and was broadcast in Latin America simultaneously on Disney Junior, Cartoon Network, Discovery Kids, Nickelodeon, PakaPaka and YouTube Kids Nov. 30, 2018.
“Ian” started as a mother’s mission to educate her son’s bullies on the playground—one to one. When she realized that the need for inclusion was bigger than one playground, she wrote a book and founded Fundación ian to change thousands of minds and attitudes about people with disabilities. She approached MundoLoco, a top digital animation studio in Latin America, about creating “Ian,” an animated film to deliver the message of inclusion to audiences all over the world.”
For the rest of the article on Respectability, information about the real Ian, links, and a lot more, click here: “Short film about playground inclusion wins international acclaim”
The link below is to an article by Dawn Haney (thank you, Jenny, for sending it to me). It is very well done and immensely relevant.
Take a moment to read it, and perhaps a few more to allow your realities and reactions to have the room they require and deserve. If you are so inclined, leave a comment below and share your thoughts about the article, of the things you’ve found to be helpful, and the realities of balancing activism with self-care.
In these times of rampant overwhelm and maddening injustice — especially if you carry your own wounds and trauma history — may you find the support you need, the awareness you seek, and the way to provide aid to the vulnerable in the pace and manner you can manage.
And may we all, indeed, be the adults kids need.
From the article. Photo by Brooke Anderson.
Photo: Inbar Asif
Unbeknownst
To anyone
Pain stripped her bare
Inside her mind.
She put on a brave face
And smiled
So no one see
What hid behind.
But how I pray
She understands
She’s not alone:
Hope’s here to find.
This post continues the blogging challenge in which Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day, serves as inspiration a-la the “Daily Prompt.”
Want to join me? Feel free to link to this post on your blog, and/or post a link to your blogpost in the comment section below so others can enjoy it, too. Poetry, photography, short stories, anecdotes: Go for it!
For more visibility, tag your post with #WordOfDayNY, so your post can be searchable.
“Follow” me if you want to receive future prompts, or just pop in when you’re looking for inspiration. Here’s to the fun of writing and our ever-evolving blogging community!
Photo: Amitai Asif
When strolling down
The winding
Road
Of history
And conflit,
Beware of loopholes
Hiding
Spies
With
Less than helpful
Motives.
Look up
Look out
For any who
Proclaim
They own the path
To righteous.
Most likely they
Have arrows
Meant
To guarantee
Their profit.
For The Daily Post
Photo: Dvora Freedman
In a trance, you transcend.
Or defend.
Or lose sight.
Use it wisely
Lest you intend
To upend
What should remain
Firm in mind.
For The Daily Post
May you be jolted into awareness.
May your heart slide ajar to the world.
May you see with kind eyes.
May your love shake
The very foundations
Of soul.
May your spirit thrust wisdom
Of long known compassion
Into all that you are
And all that can join you
At the core of the call
To be more,
To be all,
To be whole.
For The Daily Post
Blue Ridge Parkway NC; Photo: July04Girl
I don’t know if I can
I don’t know if I can’t
My life flows in the spaces
Between heart and mind
As I wait to unfold
Into what will evolve
Around corners
Behind bumps
Where possibility
Stands.
Photo: Kristin Manson
◊
And in the vivid light
I see
People divided
Anger, glee.
As in the storms of
Right or wrong
The spaces in between
Are shorn.
◊
Confusion swirls
Known facts to eddies.
Certitude dyes
Friends into enemies.
◊
I see the children’s eyes
Bewildered
As lessons taught to them
Turn riddles:
“Be kind” but watch the adults bully.
“Be calm” but let grown-ups live cruelly.
“Be patient” yet role models tantrum.
“Don’t fight” as those who said
Not to
Attack, throw barbs, play foul
Speak awful.
◊
Their little foreheads crease
With frowns
Which do they follow:
Said, or done?
◊
And
In their vivid light
Do see
The path glows clear
A road to be.
Past time to wash away
The livid rage
Recall the lessons
Of their age:
Hold space to listen
Pace to learn
Revisit patience
Drop hate
Stop spurn.
For The Daily Post
tucked away in the mountains
History of the Bloomingdale area on Manhattan's Upper West Side
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