The Long Road Home
©2016 by Alice Walker
I am beginning to comprehend
the mystery
of the gift of suffering.
It is true as some
have said
that it is a crucible
in which the gold of one’s spirit
is rendered
and shines.
Ali,
you represent all of us
who stand the test of suffering
most often alone
because who can understand
who or what
has brought us to our feet?
Their knees worn out
ancestors stood us up
from the awkward position
they had to honor
on the floor beneath
the floor.
I have been weeping
all day
Thinking of this.
The cloud of witness
the endless teaching
the long road home.
of the gift of suffering.
It is true as some
have said
that it is a crucible
in which the gold of one’s spirit
is rendered
and shines.
Ali,
you represent all of us
who stand the test of suffering
most often alone
because who can understand
who or what
has brought us to our feet?
Their knees worn out
ancestors stood us up
from the awkward position
they had to honor
on the floor beneath
the floor.
I have been weeping
all day
Thinking of this.
The cloud of witness
the endless teaching
the long road home.
interesting perspective. I read it a few times yesterday and I'm beginning to understand the poem. The narrator is still confused. In morning the loss of Muhammad Ali, the narrator starts to understand suffering in a new light, as a gift.
ReplyDeleteI especially like the opening and closing. Suffering, witnessing, and empathy are all slow teachers along the long road. But they give a mysterious gift to students who learn to understand.
I haven't suffered in my. I am grateful to have lived a soft life with many experiences. My biggest struggles were self inflicted and mostly enjoyable. Empathy and reading have opened up my understanding of the world, people, and suffering, so I can see the gift. I never thought of it as a mystery, but yeah it's pretty mysterious.
I just finished rereading Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (one of my all time favorite perspectives on suffering during his internment during WWII). He surmises that suffering, even in the most extreme conditions, is not what matters in the end- it is our reaction to it that defines our "will for meaning"- so powerful.
ReplyDeleteI loved your comment on how the suffering that you have endured is self-inflicted....I, too, have shared this pattern in my life. "The endless teaching" as Walker describes, often comes from ourselves....isn't that ironic? Self induced suffering feels almost as if the gods inside of us and the gods outside of us are plotting how we will best react- for the thinkers, internal suffering may be a big enough wake up call in itself.
I agree with Allie Jo. When my son in law died, my daughter suffered much pain as her mother did. But nothing can be done except to accept the fact and go on living.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I'm sorry for your family's loss.
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