{"id":118831,"date":"2022-06-26T01:17:14","date_gmt":"2022-06-26T05:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/?p=118831"},"modified":"2022-06-26T01:17:14","modified_gmt":"2022-06-26T05:17:14","slug":"i-dissent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/i-dissent\/","title":{"rendered":"I Dissent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen one group breaks the covenant of truth and assumes an exclusive role in defining the basis of human relationship, that group plants the seed of rebellion.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>James H. Cone. Black Theology and Black Power<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It will never be anything other than<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An uneasy balancing act<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Between us<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That is the condition and cost<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We tell stories of temptation<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It slithers and sheds its skin<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It sounds reasonable to reasonable people<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Or, for dramatic effect, we set desirable thing<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Behind a chain link fence<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We poke our fingers between the links<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We dream the dreams of petty tyrants<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whose bellies and hearts are never full<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And the soul of this world is never enough<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Temptation is real<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This world is built on a promise<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not a statue<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our bodies require bonds that are renewed daily<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The claim is a simple one<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am a living being<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With living beings<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On a living being<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And so are you<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To be is to make that claim<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To be held to that claim<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To be judged by that claim<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We live a circular scale<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Or maybe a spiral<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To understand this is to understand justice<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not just a word we say<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But a living template<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A claim made on each other just because we are alive<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A claim I hope and expect<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You will make of me<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As I make of you<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you get drunk with power…<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I dissent.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen one group breaks the covenant of truth and assumes an exclusive role in defining the basis of human relationship, that group plants the seed of rebellion.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0James H. Cone. Black Theology and Black Power \u00a0 It will never be anything other than\u00a0 An uneasy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4307,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-half-marathon-poem","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118862,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118831\/revisions\/118862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}