Just Us

I wrote this over the weekend, but I think its appropriate for Martin Luther King Day. I wrote it in the wake of the arson attack at the Belfast Multi-Cultural Association in Donegall Road near our patch in south Belfast, and the encouraging response of the public to a crowdfunding appeal for them.

In the upcoming 4CornersFestival we will also be arguing that we need to build breathing room for diversity, looking at the challenges that those from other cultures and races face here, in the wake of global Black Lives Matter protests, prompted by George Floyd's dying words "I can't breathe."

There’s no them,

There’s just us,

We’re all one,

In this community,

We’re with one another,

Not agin,

Even when we differ,

Whether we are white,

(Is anybody white?)

Or black (same question),

or iridescent purple,

Red, white and blue,

Or green, white and orange,

Male, female, cis or trans,

Gay or glum,

Straight or wobbly,

Young or old or in between,

Tall or short or wide,

Left handed or right,

Left, right or centrist,

Leave or remain,

Innie or outie,

Inner city or culchie,

Introvert or extrovert,

Or weird mixture of the two,

Theist or deist or atheist

Religious sceptic,

Or secular fundamentalist,

Spiritual or materialist,

Sneerer or enthusiast,

Gracious and gentle,

Obnoxiously rude,

Grammar school girl,

Or secondary school boy,

Batchelor of science,

Master of arts,

Doctor of philosophy

Or medicine or law,

Or graduate of

The university of life,

Whatever letters

Follow our names

Or are in our names;

English or Irish speaker,

Ulster-Scots or Ulster-Urdu,

Born here, brought here,

Chose to come here,

Couldn’t escape here,

Dog lover, cat person,

Pigeon fancier or not,

Fit as a fiddle,

A physical wreck,

Tech wizard or luddite,

Vegan or carnivore,

Wine bibber or teetotal,

Coffee or tea,

Milk and sugar or lactose free,

Football or rugby,

Whatever our team,

There’s just us.

We can’t exclude another,

But we can isolate ourselves.

Please don’t...

We want you too.

Shalom