Fear Inequities

How Do We Recover?

Restraint

Forgetting is not possible.
Recollection, however probable,
does not nullify self-control.
Though consciousness is inevitable,
Expression can be responsible.
Restraint is my hellacious goal.

Uncertainty

Certainty, the thing you demand of me, is something I cannot give.
I love you with conviction, but my doubt in us still lives.
We've established want and need, but what we lack is tremendous.
I do not trust you and me or our fragile compos mentis.
We take turns residing in extremes and engineering roller coasters.
No, I will not succumb to your beliefs.
I'm sorry. Don't be hopeful.
I lose confidence in us daily.
How am I expected to find faith in forever?
I love you with all certainty, but
I am uncertain that we belong together.

Our Thing

"What's the role of a man, LeKechia?"
It was yet another pop quiz from my father.
"Guide, provide, protect" I respond.
We have done this for as long as I can remember.
He asks a question; I answer it.
He starts a statement; I finish it
Telling him what he's taught me.
Often I did not agree and vocalized my objections.
"Keep on living, baby"
His standard response to my passionate opinions.
The older I get the more I refrain.
This is our thing, so I entertain him,
Half amused, half delighted.
"If you have to work..."
He was waiting for me.
"You might as well get paid." I respond.

My Body Discriminates

My body discriminates.
It detects the sound of your silence
And impact of your auditory impressions.
It reads the prints of your touch
And knows the feel of your presence.
It speaks your body's language
And hears the rhythm of your motions.
It translates your nonverbal cues
And responds to your emotions.
It favors the taste of your kiss
And certifies the quality of your lips.
It catches traces of your fragrance
And embraces your scent.
My body discriminates.
It knows you,
Intimately and completely.
My body finds you preferable.
Everything about you,
To my body, is perceptible.

14 Days In

Today is my 14th day not including meat in my diet. That's not a long time, but I want this to be a lifelong decision. Like so many people, I grew up eating meat, and it has always been big portion of my diet. After taking a class on sustainability, calculating my environmental footprint, and learning about the abuse and cruelty animals raised for food are made to suffer, I know this is the right decision. Additionally, I would like to be healthier, and I believe a plant-based diet is the way for me to achieve this. I was on Peta's website looking for information and came across this powerful statement:
...
"In his book Animal Liberation, Peter Singer states that the basic principle of equality does not require equal or identical treatment; it requires equal consideration. This is an important distinction when talking about animal rights. People often ask if animals should have rights, and quite simply, the answer is “Yes!” Animals surely deserve to live their lives free from suffering and exploitation. Jeremy Bentham, the founder of the reforming utilitarian school of moral philosophy, stated that when deciding on a being’s rights, “The question is not ‘Can they reason?’ nor ‘Can they talk?’ but ‘Can they suffer?’” In that passage, Bentham points to the capacity for suffering as the vital characteristic that gives a being the right to equal consideration. The capacity for suffering is not just another characteristic like the capacity for language or higher mathematics. All animals have the ability to suffer in the same way and to the same degree that humans do. They feel pain, pleasure, fear, frustration, loneliness, and motherly love. Whenever we consider doing something that would interfere with their needs, we are morally obligated to take them into account."