the universe has a moral arch
there is an ever swinging pendulum
some track its arch like cartographers
historians who collect facts to connect points
jean damu did that tracking the places the
pendulum stopped stood still paused disappeared
reappeared to swing in a counter direction how
its trajectory was skewed how it got righted who
wanted to hold on to swing from it damu was good
like that but he is gone the pendulum remains
damu introduced me to
robert chrisman the black scholar
chrisman said
the pendulum is always moving
towards right or left the future or the past
right or wrong moral or obscene always being tugged
pushed pulled
prayed into motion maybe when two
opposing sides pray
with all their might we get the
pauses damu was so good at tracking
the changes in
direction the places things touched
if you looked close enough you can
always find who owns the wind
but chrisman and damu are gone
perhaps they both pulled on martin luther
when he wrote from a jail in birmingham
professing his belief that the moral arch itself
swings towards justice cornel west preaches
pragmatic optimism perhaps we are optimistic
praying for the good in a place where none exist
perhaps we can forge right from prayer only
i think we need james cone’s bible we need
to build the pragmatism on jeremiah wrights
understanding of what can be blessed and what
must be damned if the pendulum is to
find it way with surety if moral arches
can be moved i think its work for
human hands so i pray with mine
moving looking for the tipping point between
the certainty that oppressors rarely willing
grant freedom & the bruises my chains have
wrought on my life the firmness with which
I grasp my humanity the desperate pace at
which I move through the whirlwind the
weight of the burdens that are older than
i am and the memory of direction
wired inside pulsing towards the north star
looking for the good
building the road
adding to the map
praying while sharpening swords
keeping oil in the lamp
waiting for instruction but moving
because movement is life
movement like music
metered measures
going somewhere
they pendulum they say is
always moving
the moral arch leans towards
good they say i say
remember the proverb
trust in allah but tie your
camel remember prayer
with hands moving
writes new scripture
rights wrongs
moves the pendulum
king said the moral
arch leans towards good
but king is gone
image:nathan selikoff beautiful chaos, 2013
