My People

my people, my people
who are not my people
even if I stand before you with
blinders on
with a shield before my heart
if I tell the truth
then who are not my people

guilty of hatred
guilty of fear
of small mindedness
of a petty heart
if we stand before one another naked
then who, are not our people

― Tracey Rich

These words came to me one evening, recently. More truthfully, they came over me in a quiet moment that allowed the veils to lift, as they sometimes will, and in the stillness, granted me the gift of a glimpse.