"In the Light of Day" A peom in response to our need to label each other

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