Breath: A Poem for Transformational Action

I recently wrote and performed a spoken-word poem for the Transformational Development (TD) Conference at Eastern University, co-sponsored by Eastern and Food for the Hungry. Transformational development is the kind of development that does not only seek to transform the infrastructure of societies, but pays special attention to the development and nurture of human dignity in ones who have carried the crushing weight of poverty in our world. Poverty does not only take bread out of the mouths of children. It sucks self-worth and dignity from the souls of marginalized peoples.

The United States is facing many challenges right now. Most of them are directly connected to the issue of poverty: health-care reform, immigration, climate justice, food justice, abortion, war, and the end of torture. Now is the time for prayer. Now is the time for phone calls to our congressional representatives. Now is the time for action.

I share the following poem with you with sincere hope that it might lead to transformational action now. Now is the time.

Breath
A spoken-word poem by Lisa Sharon Harper

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