Breath: A Poem for Transformational Action
by Lisa Sharon Harper 08-18-2009

I recently wrote and performed a spoken-word poem for the Transformational Development (TD) Conference at Eastern University, co-sponsored by Eastern and Food for the Hungry. Transformational development is the kind of development that does not only seek to transform the infrastructure of societies, but pays special attention to the development and nurture of human dignity in ones who have carried the crushing weight of poverty in our world. Poverty does not only take bread out of the mouths of children. It sucks self-worth and dignity from the souls of marginalized peoples.
I share the following poem with you with sincere hope that it might lead to transformational action now. Now is the time.

Breath A spoken-word poem by Lisa Sharon Harper

Da da – da da daDa da – da da daDa – da – da da – daDa – da – da da – da
Disconnected breath breeds disconnected beats
Drumming and strutting at a half-step
Then a quarter
Like a hunched over woman
Hands danglin’ from dead arms,
Dreams danglin’ lifeless behind dead eyes…
Da da – da da daDa – da – da da – da

Too many needles,
Too many hopeless visits to the parole officer And the judge mandated shrink
Too many hits from her pimp and her john
To many hits from the needle and the pipe.
To many days too far from heaven…
And wholeness…And family…And truth…And goodness…And beauty…And self…
Hands dangle Her soul limp Still
And the breath of God hovers over the deep.
The chaos The stench And fear takes cover Running – hiding from light
Chaos scatters in all directions
Kingdom breaks forth Kin-dom breaks forth
Love cuts darkness
Rise – rise hunched over one
Find your feet
Stand and find them
They are there.
I made you with feet strong enough to walk the face of the earth.
I made you with arms strong enough to maintain the integrity of my creation.
I made you with dreams strong enough to see what is NOT there YET. Dream!
Da da – da da daDa – da – da da – da

Kingdom breaks forth
Calling forth humanity to live as humanity
Calling forth hunched over queens
To receive their crowns
Calling forth pressed down princes
To stand and deliver
And commanding those who stand on their backs – imitating little-g gods.
“Bow to your knees.”
Face your humanity.“
Bow to your knees.”
Embrace your humanity.
Kin-dom locking arms
Limp arms, strong arms, and dead arms
Encircling
With tracks up and down
We will stand together in the darkness
And the breath of God will hover over the deep.
And we will all – all of us – Breeeeeeeathe…

Lisa Sharon Harper is the executive director of New York Faith & Justice and author of Evangelical Does Not Equal Republican … or Democrat.