The Ear That Speaks - Alice Walker

[Larry Robinson]

The Ear That Speaks

I have been a standing self in this world.
I have braved both pleasure and disgust.
I have lived my words.
The stranger appeared and I did not look away.
The crazy youth wandered by and I sometimes followed him.
The virgin cried and I investigated her tears.

I am a man, a person, an elder, shining and wise.
I am someone who happily discovered the use of my ears.
I am someone who happily discovered the use of my mind.
I am someone who happily discovered the use of my heart.

I meet the young people, the soldiers, the prisoners,
The students, the poor people, the people of color,
The Indians and the women of the planet,
And I am not afraid of them.
And for their part, they do not seem to be afraid of me.

I sit and eat quietly the bread of resistance 
On the wrong side of the barricade.

I am an elder, shining and wise.
I have lived my words.
I have discovered the use of my heart, my mind, my tongue.
And for that reason alone, I have become devout,
A listener devoted to the sound of the human voice.

I have lived long enough to be able to tell you
That I prefer it to sound happy.
For the sake of the generations, I have become magic.
I have become the ear that speaks.

      - Alice Walker