Up in Dust

Posted by Terrence Johnson

History is not relegated to a book or a picture
It is a living breathing being
Not only an artifact or relic
Tangible and tactile
Wanting to be touched
We however chose to shield ourselves from history
Consumed with daily routine
Having no sense of purpose or past
Our paths could be windows into our ancestral life
Homes that could have been a stop on the underground railroad
Books that contain the first words read by a slave
Suitcases that could have been a possession of a Freedom Rider
An antique camera that could have photographed Martin Luther King at the podium
These may just be fabricated examples
Not realistic in their execution
However our real history sits among us
Grandmothers, grandfathers that go quietly into the night
With no respect and acknowledgement of their worth
They lived the past
Serving as a bridge to a time most will never understand
Most will never obtain the knowledge
Failing to recognize the history that they possess
As a consequence never understanding themselves
We continue to walk aimlessly by
Letting our history collect like dust
On the covers of our history
Dusting off the book reveals nothing of its contents
This history cannot be contained by books
It is a living record
Obtained from the lips of those who lived it
Yet we still allow more history to fade away
Dust particles fall to the floor
Quickly swept up and disposed
Too late to discover its worth
Don't we know that there is nothing more precious than dirt
Our creator molded us from the Earth
Instead of reclaiming our future
We dispose of our past
Letting it go up in dust