Book Club by Maude Weiss (a Lafayette College student volunteer)
A wise man sang a plea
for a place where “Nothing is secret, everything’s sacred”
A wise man painted me
a utopia
An impossible, lyrical, mythical world
In which every person is naked and cherished and held
I could dream it but I could not believe it
But I have learned and I have grown and I have seen
I have seen the woman behind the bars
I have heard her song
I have felt her hearty laugh
And I now know-
I now know that we only truly possess two things-
two things that are ours to give
Forgiveness
&
Love
I now know that fear doesn’t stand for “Fuck Everything And Run”
Fear stands for “Face Everything And Recover”
I now know that there’s nothing for us to do but
“Fight the good fight”
Most of all,
I have been taught that
my naked dream is true
in small pockets
microscopic moments
quiet hour and a halfs
one day of the week
it’s real – no matter how small
No matter how tall the bars are or how thick the cement is or how stifling these labels may be
It still exists
A place where
All is seen
&
All is sacred