In the Light of Day
(A poem about our apparent need to label each other
based on the story in Genesis 2: 18- 3:11)
In the light of day
faces reflect a
kind of brightness
that was meant
to be
in the beginning
But too soon shadows
appeared and darkness
revealed a creeping
sadness that
continues
even now
The Earth
Being was
given the power
to name all
that was
but
names became labels
So now we reap the whirlwind
of our efforts to
control others by
putting them again
in the shadows
with our words
So east of Eden having
chosen the lesser way
we continue
our naming-
Gay – Straight
Legal – Illegal
White – Black
Right – Wrong
Me – Other
Ah but in the light of day
we are none of
those labels
We are crafted dust
with a broken
memory
So again we need to
hear the call
coming in the
cool of the evening-
“Why are you hiding,
regain your nakedness-
Be not ashamed
Cease the naming
You are simply
mine,
in the light of day”
Jody Seymour
August 2018
