Marginal Wisdom

Leslie Takahashi

Reader 1:  They teach us to read in black and white.

Reader 2:  Truth is this—the rest is false.

Reader 3:  You are whole—or broken.

Reader 2:  Who you love is acceptable—or not.

Reader 1:  My life tells its truth in many hues.

Reader 2:  We are taught to think in "either/or"s

Reader 1:  I believe the teachings of Jesus—OR Buddha.

Reader 3:  I  believe in human potential—OR a power beyond a single, human will.

Reader 1:  I am broken or I am powerful.

Reader 2:  My life embraces multiple truths, speaks of "both," of “and."

Reader 3:  They teach us to see in absolutes:

Reader 2:  Good versus evil.

Reader 1:  Male versus female,

Reader 3:  Old  versus young.

Reader 3:  My vision sees the fractions, the spectrum, the margins?

Reader 2:  Let us open our hearts to the complexity of our worlds.

Reader 1:  Let us make our own lives a sanctuary, to nurture our many identities.

Reader 2:  The day is coming when they will know:

Reader 1:  That the rainbow world is more gorgeous than monochrome;

Reader 3:  That a river of identities can ebb and flow over the static, stubborn rocks in its course;

Reader 2:  That the margins hold the center.