Imagining Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/53035820@N02/7596109940/sizes/m/

Imagining Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

(For Ms Gonzalez’s Third Graders)

by Ernie McCray

Hey,
I must say
that the words
of thanks you
sent my way
put a bounce in my step
and a smile on my face
and a warm fuzzy feeling
in my heart
that just wouldn’t go away.

I’ve come to love you guys
and your wonderful school
in a very big way.

You all made me feel so at home
as I sat and talked to you
through a microphone,
looking into
the sunniness
in your smiles,
seeing how eager
you are to learn
reflected in your eyes,
hearing you laugh
when I most wanted you to laugh,
feeling your sadness,
about some things
I said about the past.

Oh, you make
talking about Black History
much too easy.
You get it
in your soul
and you listen
with open hearts
and inquiring minds,
and does
that ever please me
and one of you wrote
that I helped you
imagine what it was like
to have been black
back in my day.

That touches something
deep inside of me
as that’s what
Rosa and Martin and Satchmo
and others who came up in our conversation
ever wanted:
understanding
and love
and love flows
through Black History
like rivers
rushing to the sea
and it’s obvious to me
that you’re caught
up in the current
because imagining what it would be like
to walk in someone else’s shoes
is about the most
inspiring
undertaking
anyone could ever pursue.

And when you can envision
how life is for others
and see how we’re all sisters
and brothers
then you can go a step further
and make your world
way better
than it’s ever been
and you,
from what I’ve seen,
are up for the challenge.

You inspire feelings
of hope in me
more than any generation
I’ve, so far, lived to see.

Your expressions
of love
and friendship
mean the world to me.

Thank you kindly.