For the Raindrop - Mirza Ghalib

Urdu Poet, Mirza Ghalib, 1797-1869

For the raindrop, joy is entering the river-
Unbearable pain becomes it's own cure

Travel far enough into sorrow, tears turn to sighing
In this way, we learn how water can die into air

When, after heavy rain, the storm clouds disperse
Is it not that they've wept themselves clear to the end?

If you want to know the miracle, how wind can polish a mirror
Look: The shining glass grows green in spring.

It's the rose's unfolding, Ghalib, that creates the desire to see-
In every color and circumstance, may the eyes be open
for what comes.

Rosa Parks 1913-2005

On December 1, 1955, the driver of the Cleveland Avenue bus asked four blacks to abandon their seats so one white could sit. Three of the four stood. Rosa Parks remained seated. Many regard that as the spark that ignited the civil rights movement. She was not the first black to refuse to stand. Those before her had been arrested, beaten even killed. The movement had reached critical mass. Her character, her quiet dignity and image in the community of Montgomery (not just the black community) that rallied a nation behind her arrest. The fact that she wasn't seeking to become a civil rights icon or to lead any grand movement makes her story all the more compelling.

She didn't speak loudly, dress provactively, or call a press conference. She made a decision and miraculously our people backed her.

God bless you.