I think I’ll stay home this evening
she said
she’s too snobby for our social circle
she’s too aloof to care about our event
she’s over-apathetic at the very least
they said
and thus she stayed home
and quietly finished the loving letter she was writing
to her dear grandmother
who was sick
and elderly
and lived an ocean away
and thus they nodded their heads
and explained her absence
was due to vanity
or laziness
or both
. . .
I’d love to squeeze in another social engagement
he said
he’s attention-seeking
he gets high from working a room
he’s over-caffeinated at the very least
they said
and thus he soaked in the joy of companionship
after a lonely week of working too hard
and thinking too late into the night
and worrying too unsuccessfully
about the family member who had just been diagnosed
with a terminal illness
and thus they shook their heads
and explained his presence
was due to flirtation
or self-gratification
or both
. . .
I am in love with a woman, she said
I am more than my skin colour, he said
I harm my body so that my heart can’t feel my pain, she said
she is the epitome of perversity, they said
he is the deceiver of trust, they said
she is the sorry result of impotence and rebellion, they said
and she loved more than they knew was humanly possible
and he raised a new generation of hearts pure and strong
and she journeyed through her torment while lifting others who had also fallen
and they ignored the infinite gold
of souls that rise above
despite the judgement
despite the prejudice
despite the expectations
. . .
and the assumptions piled up
collated
accepted
and the reasons slipped by
unnoticed
ignored
and they pressed harder
with their assumptions
in order to change her
in order to correct him
in order to claim her
and she bore the weight
of confusion
and self-doubt
and he wished that they
would instead ease the burdens
which he already carried
and she held her ground
and taught others to believe
in themselves too
. . .
and one day
they will open their eyes
and look beyond the assumptions
and see the rainbow colours of a painting
which they had once proclaimed
was only etched in grey
and one day
she will smile
free of the assumptions
and one day
he will walk
being seen for who he is
and one day
she will blossom
as others look beyond her reflection
and shower acceptance upon her deepest soul
Emma is an Italian-South African with a New Zealand passport and an international heart. She spent years training student choirs and co-running a puppeteering business, before working for a humanitarian organisation in New Zealand (7 years) and Papua New Guinea (3 years). Currently a nomad living between various countries and towns, Emma's deep joy is in writing, music, cooking up an Italian storm, and taking time to listen to people’s stories.
Read Emma's creative expressions at http://www.girlkaleidoscope.wordpress.com or https://pngponderings.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/finding-the-beauty/
Emma’s previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/emma-mcgeorge.html