Theme/Mantra: “What lines must I dare to cross today?”
Reading:
A Walk Along the Old Tracks by Robert Kinsley
when I was young they had already been
abandoned for years
overgrown with sumac and sour apple,
the iron scrapped, the wood long
gone for other things.
In summer my father would send us along them
to fetch the cows from the back pasture,
a long walk to a far off place it seemed
for boys so young. Lost again for a moment
in that simple place,
I fling apples from a stick and look for snakes
in the gullies. There is
a music to the past, the sweet tones
of perfect octaves
even though we know it was never so.
My father had to sell the farm in that near perfect time
and once old Al Shott killed a six foot rattler on the tracks.
“And when the trolly was running” he said, “you could jump
her as she went by and ride all the way to Cleveland,
and’ oh,” he said, “what a time you could have there.”
Meditation:
Find a comfortable position to listen.
Ask your heart- your mind- your whole person-
Who do you put on the other side of the tracks from you.
How can you find a way to plant some sour apple and sumac to bridge the gap between you and the Other?
Sit with this. Be honest with yourself.
Consider this truth without judgement, but with hope.
Physical Movement:
Balancing Act- or Balancing the Cat.
Kneel on your hands and knees in “table position,” with legs under your hips and your arms under your shoulders.
Focus on a spot at eye level ahead of you.
As you Inhale, lift your right leg straight out behind and simultaneously lift your left arm reaching straight out in front of you.
Balance on your left knee and right hand.
Don’t raise either too high. Your leg should be at hip level, and arm at shoulder level.
Hold for a few breaths before lowering leg and arm.
Repeat on the opposite side.
Remind yourself, “I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.”
Reflection:
I wonder how that term began, “wrong side of the tracks.” I guess in too many cities across our nation, there are railroad tracks that separated the rich from the poor, the white from the black, the “haves” from the “have-nots.” I grew up being taught to fear the “other.” I grew up being taught that evil lurked in the city.
Oh god have mercy. What lies we have been taught. Evil lurks in our own hearts.
Tracy Chapman’s self- titled album brought us Across The Lines, along with “Talkin about a Revolution” and the haunting “Behind the Wall” (about domestic abuse). I was changed when I heard it in the 80’s. I think I had always considered myself a pacifist- and the underdog, the marginalized, the abused had been the people I identified with and wanted to defend when I was older and stronger. But when this album came out, it solidified my commitment to working for justice in the world.
Lines. Across lines we must walk. Lines that divide and shut out- that divide what should be equal.
I included the poem above, because I love the image of old railroad tracks that used to separate being overgrown, taken over by the natural world- by an equalizer. By a Healer.
Yes, moving in the direction of justice is always complicated.
But still- it is the only way I can choose.
Song: Across the Lines by Tracy Chapman
Lyrics:
Across the lines
Who would dare to go?
Under the bridge
Over the tracks
That separates whites from blacks
Choose sides
Or run for your lives
Tonight the riots begin
On back streets of America
They kill the dream of America
Little black girl gets assaulted
Ain't no reason why
Newspaper prints the story
And racist tempers fly
Next day it starts a riot
Knives and guns are drawn
Two black boys get killed
One white boy goes blind
Across the lines
Who would dare to go?
Under the bridge
Over the tracks
That separates whites from blacks
Choose sides
Or run for your lives
Tonight the riots begin
On back streets of America
They kill the dream of America
Little black girl gets assaulted
Don't no one know her name
Lots of people hurt and angry
She's the one to blame
Across the lines
Who would dare to go?
Under the bridge
Over the tracks
That separates whites from blacks
Choose sides
Or run for your lives
Tonight the riots begin
On back streets of America
They kill the dream of America
Until Tomorrow- Peace
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