When I Meet People

When I see people with darker or lighter skin than mine,
I want to have skin of that color also

When I see people wearing head coverings,
I want to do the same

When I meet people from different cultures, speaking different languages,
I want to learn to speak those languages, too

I want to be included and including
to see what they are seeing
to feel what they are feeling
to know what they are knowing

I seek to understand
and be a friend
and learn to trust
and say what it is like to be me
and see what it is like to be you
and feel what it is like to be us

Deena Strohman
read at the Metro-wide Policy Breakfast