Especially for Those Who Aren't Surprised
Some say they are not surprised
at the violence just committed in Charleston,
by the hatred and ignorance
that seems to be the norm.
But let us be surprised,
for without surprise we cannot grieve,
and without grief we cannot change even ourselves,
and without our own change,
how can the world be redeemed?
What if each white person could admit our true identity:
Recipients of a legacy of which we are not proud,
which we still need to repudiate;
in fact, no longer wave the flag of our race,
but ask forgiveness, again and again,
that someday the violence ends, and we
may be surprised by an embrace?
Scott L. Barton
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