Day 81: Soul Looks Back in Wonder

This book was not what I was expecting. I thought it would be a children's book along the lines of "I'll Love You Forever", but it's not. Instead, it's a book of African American poetry, with really cool illustrations as well. They are relatively short poems, but I think overall this book gives us a glimpse (at least for me) of a world that I am not a part of, and I am grateful for it. It makes me wonder how in the world my ancestors dealt with the slave trade, how they could be ok with putting their fellow man in bondage, on trial for nothing but their skin color, or even lynching. Cruelty like that makes no sense to me, especially when you read creative and beautiful work like this. Perhaps I am naive, but I believe all mankind is the same, no matter the color of their skin, the language they speak or the traditions of their fathers. What I mean by the same is we all feel the same emotions, have the same needs, work the same hard jobs...Everybody needs somebody to look at them and say, "You are worth something." We all wish to be free. And so I bring this thought to you: The next time you see someone who is very different from you, look at him or her not as a stranger, but as a brother or sister, and try to help them out if possible.