The Pain We Share

Poetry is the way a trembling truth learns to stand upright.  
It is the soft place where a wounded spirit can rest.  
It is the breath we give to memories that still ache.  
It is the courage to speak even when our voice shakes.  
It is the promise that no one’s suffering will be left unseen.

Empathy is the bridge we build with our bare hands.  
It is the moment we choose to listen instead of judge.  
It is the way we let another person’s storm pass through us  
without trying to silence the thunder.  
It is the quiet vow that we will not turn away  
from the broken places in someone else’s life.  
It is the gentle strength that says  
I will carry a little of your weight  
so you can remember how to walk again.

Power is not the roar of dominance.  
It is the steady flame that refuses to go out.  
It is the truth that rises even after being buried.  
It is the mercy that stands firm when cruelty demands surrender.  
It is the hand extended instead of the fist raised.  
It is the light that grows inside a person  
who has survived what should have ended them.  
It is the moment a soul realizes  
that love is stronger than fear  
and compassion is stronger than violence  
and healing is stronger than harm.

We rise because others once lifted us.  
We speak because silence nearly destroyed us.  
We feel because numbness was never the answer.  
We hold each other because loneliness taught us its cost.  
We turn our scars into lanterns  
so no one walks in the dark alone.  
We become living proof  
that love survives everything  
and that mercy is the greatest revolution.

Poetry
Is 
Empathy
Is
Power

💚JoshM

Popular posts from this blog

A Plea to the Keepers of the Flame By: JoshM

America is trembling again.   Not from storms   but from the sound of hearts breaking   in every direction at once.   And so I lift my voice   not as a prophet   not as a politician   but as a son of Abraham   a child of Adam   a believer in the Most High   who still whispers through the cracks of our chaos   Love one another.   To the Pope   to the priests   to the pastors and ministers   to the Chief Rabbis Ashkenazi and Sephardic   to the Grand Imam of al Azhar   to the Grand Muftis   to every shepherd of every flock   who carries Scripture in one hand   and the weight of the world in the other   I am begging you.   Lay the hate down.   Lay the judgment down.   Lay the fear down.   Open your arms   the way Heaven has always open...
Read more

What I Believe About Women to be True.

I believe women are the first teachers of the world.   Not because they asked for that role, but because life trusted them with it. When I speak about women, I’m not talking about a category of people. I’m talking about the architects of my becoming. The ones who held the line when everything else fell apart. The ones who taught me that strength can whisper and still shake the earth. I believe women carry a kind of wisdom men spend their whole lives trying to understand. A wisdom that doesn’t need to be loud to be life saving. A wisdom that doesn’t demand attention but still commands respect. A wisdom that sees through the mask you wear and chooses to speak to the person underneath. I believe women deserve safety without having to earn it.   Respect without having to fight for it.   Love without having to shrink for it. I believe a woman’s voice should never be treated like background noise. Her boundaries should never be treated like suggestions. Her dream...
Read more

My teaching poem for the children of Abraham

To the Rabbis   To the Imams   To the Pastors   to the shepherds of Abraham’s scattered children   I come with open hands not to argue but to listen I am a son of the South   a son of dust and breath   a son of Adam like you   And I have learned this much   we forget we are family only when fear gets loud I believe in Elohim   in Adonai   in the Most High who spoke to Moses in fire   who guided Mary with light   who strengthened Muhammad with revelation   I believe the One who breathed life into Adam   is not divided by our languages   or our scriptures   or our borders To my Jewish teachers   I honor the Torah you guard   the covenant you carry   the questions you wrestle with like Jacob in the night   I honor your refusal to speak lightly of God   your insistence that the Holy O...
Read more