Poem: Reconciliation Requires Empathy

Reconciliation Requires Empathy

It has been four years
without compassion
from those who rule,

with a refusal
to recognize pain
that made citizens

cry out, to bring
disorder, show rising up
was the only voice

they were allowed,
while hatemongers
were encouraged,

applauded, even invoked
by that man as he sat
in office as though

he were not working
for the people
but as their boss,

and now, as we celebrate
the first steps away
from painful circumstances,

what does it mean
that those who did this,
who still wish it to continue,

think it important for us
to show them empathy,
to make room for them,

but maybe they should see
what it is we feel now
and recognize what they have done. 

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