…when I fall…when I fail…when everything
breaks…like cracks in the concrete…no foundation…thinking we grow without scars and wounds…from this system that sees itself as soil, pliable and rich with broken down stone structure giving life…but it is not
that.
It is not solid like concrete because there is no structure to give when there is so little guidance or instruction on how to mix it…
…the methods all chosen by each experimentor…each cook in countless kitchens
interpreting it all like secret sauce whose flavor, color and fragrance elude us…
familiar and so unfamiliar at the same time…
I woke up with you on my mind
Dear student
The one
Two
Three
Four
More than I can really see in my vision of this moment…
I could hear your heart beat
Panicked
In this moment…how will you catch me
When I fail
Caring not about the fall
The opportunity to experience the accomplishment of the rough and tumble roll because you have been here before if not always…carving out your joy once denied and found and now taken…
You never really trusted this system and now…
You are losing hope
In this moment
Ringing in my ears
Echoing in my mind
Is your voice lost long behind blackened screens
No profile pic
No renamed identity
No hands to guide on a page
Or smile to confirm
Behind the mask and the veil…
“How will you catch me when I fall?” “How will you be there when you are not near?”
Joy Barnes-Johnson, Ph.D. 