In response to Claudette’s Weekly Writing Challenge #6: Bravery.
This is a very old piece, but it came to mind when I was thinking about what bravery means to me. To me, bravery means breaking silence, especially when it goes against the ‘norm’, or what one has been taught, because ones own truth has finally become a priority. Something that can no longer be denied, shushed, or only alluded to, but must be spoken aloud, directly and honestly.
Beyond Black and White
White snow
rested high and softly
atop icy black water,
when she asked me
if she must forgive him.
That grandfather man,
who left his mark
in blackening bruises
on her once
small child’s body.
I thought of the nun,
in her black and white
habit,
finger pointing
at our small upturned
faces,
as she explained
how sin
left its stain
in ever-deepening black
shadows,
on a precious
white soul.
She asked me again,
“must I forgive him?”
I said, “no.”
Elizabeth Crawford 3/6/09
