JUSTICE VISION
Justice
This word rings like wedding bands around the fingers of our morality
We carry its conviction like thunder in our pockets
Waiting for the world’s villains to catch us defenseless in a dark alley
Anticipating an easy snack
We wait for wrong to happen
That we may loose justice from our skin
Like a pride of raging lions
And feel good about ourselves
We reduce justice
To vengeance
That we may transform ourselves into superheroes
But when you feel like you don’t matter
You don’t want a superhero
You want to be seen
Can you see me?
Or do you only see my anti-gravity hair
And skin with so many synonyms for Brown
That it would confuse a thesaurus
Can you see me?
Or just my wheelchair
Or the fact that English is not my first language
Or that I’m a girl
Or that I’m a boy
Or that I’m unsure
Can you see me?
Or am I just a set of descriptions to you
A math variable
Deserving whatever the consequences are
For existing on the wrong side of the equals sign
Can you see me?
Or are you the innocent bystander
Guiltily watching me be erased
Justice
Like a honeycomb or a womb
Is an environment we cultivate
A breathable atmosphere favoring no one
Where even the weakest among us can thrive
We are the arms and legs and lungs and wings
Of goodness in this world
Justice
True justice
Is soul work
And all soul work
Begins with seeing people for who they really are
Can you see me?
Josh Evans is a poet, storyteller, voice actor, and educator from Pasadena, California. He has read at Beyond Baroque, Avenue 50 Studio’s La Palabra series, a Dignidad Literaria read-in, and was a feature poet in the Los Angeles Music Center’s “For the Love of LA” production. Josh Evans has also performed at a plethora of engagements, including weddings, birthdays, conferences, and both private school and college events. His poems and essays have been published in the Café Con Libros inaugural anthology, Spectrum anthology, Angel’s Flight Literary Magazine, and the Los Angeles Poet Society’s debut anthology “Los Angeles Poets for Justice: A Document for the People.” His short story collection “Aces Wild” can be purchased on Amazon. Josh is online at talkstorytome.net and Twitter/IG/Tik Tok under @tstmGriotJosh