Out Of Order

What? This is a spoken word piece I wrote on the first of this month after learning of the death of yet another young man with brown skin at the hands of the police. The following words come from a place of hurt and frustration and anger for the late child's family and friends and for all those who look like me and have dealt with this type of killing. It is heart wrenching and devastating that these types of murders are still taking place. My first thought after reading about Jordan Edwards, the boy who was murdered by a police officer, was, "Not again." When will it end? You know what I find ironic and twisted? The fact that, according to this news article , Jordan got shot after he and his brothers were leaving a party because they heard gun shots. Wow. Lighten Up May 1, 2017 What will it take for me to be safe? What will it take for me to no longer be a threat in your eyes? Shall I bite my tongue at your command? Make my palms open and plain ...

The pain of goodbye Loss is something we have all experienced in some way, or will at some point. For some of us, a loss or losses was part of the trigger for our eds. It could have been in the form of a divorce or abandonment or death. Whatever the loss was, saying goodbye hurts. Especially when it's sudden. In February, two close friends of mine (I'll call them Jesse and Kelly) experienced great loss: the unexpected death of a loved one. My heart was and is very heavy for them. I want to make them feel better and take away the hurt. But I can't. I want to rewind time so that those things leading up to the tragic departures never happened. But time machines don't exist. As much as God has blessed me to weave words together, I have nothing I can really say to provide comfort. Not lasting comfort. But... there are Words which have always provided me with the balm I needed in times of deep anguish. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and rescues those who...