Jane Hirshfield’s Masterpiece of Resolve Against Hatred
A renewal of lifelong intention to cultivate compassion and awareness
Now, particularly in times of tumultuous uncertainty, fear and loss continue to perpetuate the horrific violence that humans are capable of inflicting upon one another, with the dangerous disregard for all lives and all beings. In the midst of such sadness and sorrow, we must cry out with steadfast persistence and perseverance. Let us strive to balance what we take with what we give, what we seek with what we find, and what we observe with what we comprehend.
This is how we will end the hatred, inequality, and injustices of the world.
I’d like to share the following culmination of courage and compassion, which is relevant today in our collective climate of uncertainty:
Spell To Be Said Against Hatred by Jane Hirshfield
Until each breath refuses they, those, them.
Until the Dramatis Personae of the book’s first page says, “Each one is you.”
Until hope bows to its hopelessness only as one self bows to another.
Until cruelty bends to its work and sees suddenly: I.
Until anger and insult know themselves burnable legs of a useless table.
Until the unsurprised unbidden knees find themselves bending.
Until fear bows to its object as a bird’s shadow bows to its bird.
Until the ache of the solitude inside the hands, the ribs, the ankles.
Until the inaudible acids bathing the coral.
Until what feels no one’s weighing is no longer weightless.
Until what feels no one’s earning is no longer taken.
Until grief, pity, confusion, laughter, longing know themselves mirrors.
Until by we, we mean I, them, you, the muskrat, the tiger, the hunger.
Until by I we mean as a dog barks, sounding and vanishing and sounding and vanishing completely.
Until by until we mean I, we, you, them, the muskrat, the tiger, the hunger, the lonely barking of the dog before it is answered.
“Spell to Be Said against Hatred” was originally published in Hirshfield’s spellbinding book Ledger: Poems, a pivotal work of personal, ecological, and political reckoning focusing on issues of consequence to all who share this world’s current and future fate. Source.
So now we call on human beings everywhere to hold every human life of equal value; to demonstrate compassion; to strive to be instruments of positive change; to be deliberate in building better communities for all; and to be unrelenting in efforts to incite equality everywhere for every being of our magnificent universe.
We must set aside our fears, concerns, and worries about speaking out against what we know to be wrong, and hold ourselves and each other to a higher standard.
Remaining silent only serves to enable hatred-inciting behavior and can lead others to perceive this type of behavior as being condoned by others in our communities. Silence is not OK. We, the people, should expect nothing less.
What is needed most as we move forward in this country is unity and love. Divisiveness is tearing our country apart.
The question is “What actions will you take to improve our world?”
Here are a few simple suggestions:
Read and learn about history from the perspective of other cultures
Acknowledge that many are hurting
Understand and accept that we are different and have similarities as human beings
Have discussions on race and current issues in your own families and circles
Reach out and get to know someone of another race or culture
Meet your neighbors
Vote in local, statewide and national elections
Pause and think before you speak
Don’t intentionally use your privilege to hurt someone else
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Provide positivity, joy and appropriate humor when you can
This story was inspired by the talented and compassionate Henery X (long), Trista Ainsworth, Amy Marley, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Erin King, Michele Thill, and Dew Langrial. Their illuminating and courageous stories are below:
