i was hoping that it was the wind again
pretending to be an old senile actor trying to
carry a message
a warning
between forgotten lines
wanting to be born again
but giving up and dying
in the form of this man
whose features i had often given
to the night
whose voice i had often given
to the darkness
who was at my door…at my door.
he rang the bell as if all of his blood
had surged into the one hand, the one finger
like the one that pokes our chests or our foreheads
after each utterance of why
after each scream of why
like the one that belongs to grandmama, to granddaddy
or their grandchildren who don’t know any better
the finger that seems to always separate the blood
into explanation
blood that was about to be set free
flowing like declared independence
after alley-crack dialogue
filling lies where rock and sand have failed
no, the wind’s freedom is not the same.
maybe his blood was Ashanti…as mine became Dogon…
there were shadows standing along the drawn-up boundary
hearts beating like hands against a hollow log
he was a wanderer seeking refuge from the shadows
like an unplanted seed needing one last embrace from the sun
not caring to take root beneath infertile rhetoric.
he was a stranger
seeking refuge in a vestibule…in a village
Senufo…Bateke…no…yes…no…we were both african
but he could be conquered
his hand fumbling through the boot-legged images
that could bring death from the shadows
that could conceal death
but he could be conquered.
hearts beating like hands against a hollow log
a shared dialect heard above the babble
of fading shadows
…Ibibio…Yoruba…no…we were both african
i could feel it in the wind.
When a death video goes viral
Tags: Culture, Dayna Kempson-Schacht, Ethics, Family, Love, Marriage, Morals, Relationships, Religion, Society, Spirituality, suicide, Technology, Tyler Clementi
“For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”
Proverbs 1:16
There are few things more precious than a Mom and Dad’s memories of their children, of guiding them through the laughter and the crying, the discoveries and the disappointments. Watching the twinkle of innocence in their little infant eyes develop into the sparkle of wonder and anticipation during the years of adolescence, to become the brilliant star of a promising adulthood.
When those memories are unconscionably violated by images that are impossible to erase it is nothing short of an abominable tragedy.
When I came across the news story that the parents of Dayna Kempson-Schacht received a graphic video of her just moments after her fatal car accident, and that the video had been posted online, the first question that popped into my mind was: Why would anyone want to do that? How can someone be so callous and insensitive as to send grieving parents a fresh reminder of such a devastating loss?
It was suggested that the video was sent to the parents only to make them aware that the video existed. OK, I can see warning the parents that the video existed, but did they have to send them the actual video? I guess that one person’s good intention is another person’s grievous invasion, separated only by the thin line of common sense, or lack thereof.
But is it merely a lack of common sense, or something deeper and darker?
With this incident coming on the heels of the coverage of the Tyler Clementi story I’m certain that the conversation regarding the sometimes catastrophic combination of technology and temptation will intensify. The thing is that while technology presents its own set of temptations it is simply modernizing those temptations that have plagued mankind since the beginning of time.
But right now my thoughts and prayers are with Dayna’s parents. I can only imagine that the day that they received the video they woke up determined to get through another day, armed with only the loving and lasting memories of their daughter. I’m sure that it never occurred to them that they would be dragged down into someone else’s spiritual poverty.
I figure that someone has to be living a pretty miserable life to pull a stunt like that. But like my mother has always said: Misery loves company.