she said to me once I wish he would just
kill yourself you’re such a burden to me
he said I think I was nine when my mom
drove me down to the deepest part of
Baja California and she walks me up to
an orphanage and she knocks on the door
and the guy comes to the door and she
says I found this kid
and she left me there for 90 days
until my grandmother could get out of
her where she had dumped me and my
grandmother came and rescued me my mom
beat me every single day of my
elementary school years with things you
could imagine and a lot of things you
couldn’t every day my back was bloodied
and scarred in fact I had to wear three
t-shirts to school each day first
t-shirt because the blood would seep
through and second t-shirt you could
still see it finally the third t-shirt
you couldn’t see any blood kids at
school they’d make fun of me a fool it’s
a hundred degrees why are you wearing
three t-shirts and then he stopped
speaking so overwhelmed with emotion and
he seemed to be staring at a piece of
his story that only he could see when he
could regain his speech she said through
his tears I were three t-shirts well
into my adult years
because I was ashamed of my wounds I
didn’t want anybody to see him but now I
welcomed by wounds I run my fingers over
my scars my wolves are my friends after
all
how can I help heal the wounded if I
don’t welcome my own wounds and awe came
upon
[Music]
the measure of our compassion lies not
in our service of those on the margins
but only in our willingness to see
ourselves in kinship with and indeed you
have to brace yourselves because people
will accuse you of wasting your time and
you stand with the poor and the
powerless and the voiceless you stand
with those whose dignity has been denied
and you stand with those whose burdens
are more than they can bear and you will
go from here and have this exquisite
privilege once in a while to be able to
stand with the easily despised and the
readily left out with the demonized so
that the demonizing will stop a gentle
kind soul he’s proof that only the soul
that ventilates the world with
tenderness has any chance of changing the world
kill yourself you’re such a burden to me
he said I think I was nine when my mom
drove me down to the deepest part of
Baja California and she walks me up to
an orphanage and she knocks on the door
and the guy comes to the door and she
says I found this kid
and she left me there for 90 days
until my grandmother could get out of
her where she had dumped me and my
grandmother came and rescued me my mom
beat me every single day of my
elementary school years with things you
could imagine and a lot of things you
couldn’t every day my back was bloodied
and scarred in fact I had to wear three
t-shirts to school each day first
t-shirt because the blood would seep
through and second t-shirt you could
still see it finally the third t-shirt
you couldn’t see any blood kids at
school they’d make fun of me a fool it’s
a hundred degrees why are you wearing
three t-shirts and then he stopped
speaking so overwhelmed with emotion and
he seemed to be staring at a piece of
his story that only he could see when he
could regain his speech she said through
his tears I were three t-shirts well
into my adult years
because I was ashamed of my wounds I
didn’t want anybody to see him but now I
welcomed by wounds I run my fingers over
my scars my wolves are my friends after
all
how can I help heal the wounded if I
don’t welcome my own wounds and awe came
upon
[Music]
the measure of our compassion lies not
in our service of those on the margins
but only in our willingness to see
ourselves in kinship with and indeed you
have to brace yourselves because people
will accuse you of wasting your time and
you stand with the poor and the
powerless and the voiceless you stand
with those whose dignity has been denied
and you stand with those whose burdens
are more than they can bear and you will
go from here and have this exquisite
privilege once in a while to be able to
stand with the easily despised and the
readily left out with the demonized so
that the demonizing will stop a gentle
kind soul he’s proof that only the soul
that ventilates the world with
tenderness has any chance of changing the world
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