Dare

Can we form a friendship with a foe?

Can we step deeper into this mire

of muddy land we share

even after we pushed natives aside

to colonize a fresh and foreign land?

Can we acknowledge those we enslaved

to do our work, those with darkest skin

from far off Africa? Can we dare

to find the light between us,

is there a way to erase the injury,

damage we deal to others

unlike ourselves? Can we confess,

bringing to the surface our gravest crimes?

Can we hone a strong alliance,

blending our breaths into one, creating

a new humanity for each other?

2016 poem by Marilyn Peretti