Archive for February, 2017

Jesus returned as a refugee

February 28, 2017

Jesus returned as a refugee,

His Holy Mother stepped into the boat,

She rocked him gently through the night,

singing songs, until the storm.

Its waves capsized their fragile craft,

they sank in the rolling sea,

Their sacred bodies washed up on the shore,

sacrificed, for you, and me.

 

Jesus returned in a female form,

during China’s one-child policy,

She was sacrificed before her birth,

so She never came to be.

 

God, being generous with His gift,

sent Him again to a warring country,

His house was bombed by a cruel regime,

and no one intervened.

 

How many times will He be sent?

and how many times in love?

How many times do we reject

the Message from above.

 

*Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40)

             cfblack 2-28-2017

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Life happens.

February 11, 2017

Four years ago, I did not receive tenure at a place I was teaching. It was totally and completely undeserved. I achieved excellence in all areas of my work there. Students gave me an award for being “all that a woman should be”. I published my dissertation as a book. I also did original interviews with people working on grassroots organization projects to stop the building of a private prison in their communities, and published it as a chapter in a 3-vol. series on privatization of prisons. And I attended a conference in New Orleans and published the article I presented there. I served on committees, including being the coordinator for my department’s accreditation assessments. I oversaw the student-led Psychology-Sociology CLub, attended all their meetings and offered guidance. Lastly, my students won FIRST AND SECOND PLACE at a statewide research conference. To this day I do not know why I didn’t receive tenure because they are not required to tell you. I appealed all the way to the end, to no avail. (What did they know that I don’t know? Did they have some misinformation? Did someone just not like me? Did they not like my religion?) There was no explanation. When I questioned their assessment of me in 3 categories, I was told, “We have no numbers to back it up. That’s just what we decided on, we didn’t want to be restricted by numbers.” (Oh, really? Who gave you the arbitrary power of God? and why am I working here??)  Welcome to the world of Academia. I was advised by colleagues to bring a lawsuit (and later found out others have done that there, and won), but in the end, I decided my emotional state and body couldn’t deal with that, so I went on anti-depressants and moved on. Thank God.

Let me just say, when God closes a window, He sometimes opens a DOOR. I am so happy now in my current position where I effectively use my skills to help students where they need me most. With all this being said, Here is a little haiku for anyone from my former school reading this:

 

With a promotion,

God has brought me to this place,

also with a raise.

cfblack, 02-11-2017  

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The Wall

February 10, 2017

The Wall

The great wall of China,
The Berlin wall,
The wall of indifference,
The walls of Jericho,
The Buddha lived behind a wall, until venturing over the side
Where he observed suffering for the first time,
and he wept for what he saw,
A wall is a barrier, It blocks our view,
It shuts people out, It locks others in,
No matter how high you build a wall,
We are one, I can feel their tears,
Whose family are you walling out?
(Not yours, they roam easily)
Who do you think you are walling in?
(not me, my heart is free)
Your arrogance is your downfall,
Your greed the end of your power,
We, the people, live here now,
Go back to your ivory tower,
The walls of Jericho crumbled and fell
With the sound of a trumpet call,
“Some things you may wish you had never said,”
said a friend to Marie Antoinette.
                           cfblack 02-10-2017

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