We Are All Part of One Another
RESISTANCE & COMPASSION
2017 Center: 30" diameter (Full mandala: 4') Mixed Media
We Are All Part of One Another
Tribute to Yuri Kochiyama
To be part of one another is to know
That when you breathe I heave with you
And when you sigh I cry beside you.
We are breath and water, each of us
Passing from one vessel to another
In the mandala of life.
Knowing this, we would delve into
The deepest part of ourselves
To see the brilliance inside others.
We would be more careful with words
And protest deeds that hurt and harm.
We would guard the earth
As if it were our hallowed home.
Knowing we are not separate
We fight for freedom and justice
With fierce rage cupped in compassion.
For we cannot be free if one of us is not.
We cannot reap riches if one of us has none.
We cannot fully love if one of us is hated.
Fight for prisoners wrongly jailed.
Protect the rights of women raped.
Free all immigrants detained by ICE.
Stand with Muslims against the ban.
Rebuild Black churches burned by hate.
Fight for sacred land and clean water.
Preserve mountains, forests, and streams.
Protest greedy politicians’ plunder.
Cry for bears shot in their sleep.
Control the climate before it’s too late.
Beyond her life, Yuri’s words live on
In every continent, every country, every town.
“We are all part of one another."
Rise up and fight as one.
© Nancy Hom 2017
Published in “This Wandering State: Poems from Alta,” 2022, by Kim Shuck
