culture fix

history demands of us only one thing:
we must tell what it is that we have done.
to do so
we must ask
those who came before us
those whom we intend to love
those whose lives are affected by our actions
and, hardest, but most important of all,
(though maybe it should go without saying)

we must ask ourselves
to unearth the stories that comprise the intricate web of a lifetime
and bring them into the daylight.

there is a tremendous weight
in not knowing,
or not being able to say
where and why you came from
who, what and how you have made of your time alive.
whatever it is that we have experienced
but cannot name
promises to hover,
promises to haunt us.

there is nothing so beautiful
as revealing what it is that you have lived and felt
and being fully heard.

the so-called free market will kill you for not complying.
the religions of the world will shame you and damn you for your regrets and imperfections.
the state will chastise, criminalize, and confine you for whatever it deems unacceptable.

but history only asks
that we tell the story.