Are the flower and fruit/held out to us in love, or merely thrust/up at us, their masters, like a fist?/Or are they the lords, asleep amongst the roots,/granting to us in their great largesse/ this hybrid thing—part brute force, part mute kiss? *
It is clear to me that you have been born into a world of great inequality. I am a woman and so I understand your preoccupation with status and place. I have found little solace in knowing that I will always know more about those who have more power than I have, then they will ever know about me. What solace could there be in this knowledge? That I might simply have an advantage in keeping myself safe? Why should I need to keep myself safe? Why isn’t safety a matter of everyday living for all the world’s inhabitants? I know, I know, I’m not answering your question; instead I’m offering more and more of my own. I imagine you reading this and feeling frustrated, possibly infuriated. I’m sorry. I want to be kind to you. I want to be inspiring and generous. Of course the flower and the fruit are held out to us in love. If you see a fist thrusting, please know that this fist is not being thrust at you with “brute force” but with excitement at knowing that what it offers is perfection. This is something we are unable to offer to another human being. And in offering this perfection, they are likely “the lords, asleep among the roots.” But I have to ask: why “lords?” Do you really see flowers and fruit lording their perfection? It seems to me, that all they want is to be left alone in the sun to grow. Which is also what you seem to want. Isn’t this what we all want?
* from “The Dead” by Don Paterson