For Maria, Amandi. as the ACORN story began......

I saw deeply into your own sadness
before you even told me about it
how tired your eyes are layered with silent secrets
and when you live in a cloud
the world unto itself
that is poverty
race
and class
are interlinked
and descend upon you
like a night mare
tightening around
you in your sleep
we work hard
to keep our minds free
our hearts pure
our lives meaningful

we work for social and economic justice
yet those are only words
until a few cold raindrops
of reality hit your face
wind carries away fantasy
slapping against the truth in its place
fighting for justice
has a ring to it
but when the sun goes down
what does it mean if we still
hunger
ravenous in the way we move touch
reach for self destruction
what does it mean
if at the end
I return to my side of the tracks
if we are doing all we can
and it still does not feed every soul
or nourish all the seeds

we console ourselves slowly

I saw deeply into your sadness
before you even told me about it