Love Transcends All

- A Poem by Kandis James

It’s easy

To get swept away into darkness

It’s easy

To turn a blind eye

It’s easy 

To follow the crowd

To do what you’re told

It’s easy

Until it’s not

 

At what point does one break?

At what point does one say

It’s too much?

 

I won’t get swept away

I won’t turn a blind eye

I won’t follow the crowd

Or do what I’m told

You can’t control me

 

I am sovereign

 

But it’s not easy

 

You’re a racist

A bigot

A national terror

Banned from the media

Bank accounts closed

Your rights

Torn away

Because you chose…

 

… to stay free

 

It’s not easy

 

Friends lost

Jobs gone

Your intellect put on trial

For what?

 

Because you dared to stand up

To those who reign power

To those who wreak havoc

On us

 

As we try

To stay free

 

It’s not easy

 

It’s an uphill battle 

In the slickest of mud

At times

It you feel you’re getting nowhere

 

And then you see it

A hand reaching out

And you grab it

Only to notice

6.5 million more

 

Hand in hand

A human chain

Of strength

Of power

Of vision

 

And then you feel it

Unyielding

 

The connection

The warmth

The love 

That floods your body

 

You are not alone 

Anymore 

 

There are others

That see

That are ready to stand up

That are ready to make a difference

 

And for the first time

In a long time

You feel hope

 

You are not alone

 

Around the globe

These people

They see you

They are you

We are you

  

And in that moment you know

 

We are one

We are strong

We are capable

 

And we choose

To stay free

 

It's not easy

But together

Our love transcends

All darkness

 

As we choose

to stay free