This Is How It Starts
For the first time in my life, ten days before the November 5, 2024 election, I knocked on doors for Democratic candidates — in Arizona, as luck would have it. As I felt the way — trusted the way — through conversations with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, I came upon one man, I’ll call him Dave, a man in his 70’s, who, upon answering his door, stepped outside, closed the door behind him, and, clearly wanting to share with me, began to talk. This poem came through after that experience.
You will find songs here: some spoken (like this one and this one), and some unspoken (like this one and this one). May this poem help to bring healing and hope to our beautiful, wounded land.
this is how it starts
may i be open
whispers the prayer within me
as i knock on your door
and hope for your vote
before i can ask
you tell me i have it
even though generations of your family chose otherwise
until now
as you step outside
and close the door behind you
i sense there is more
i wait
you speak of being a student of history
watching films of Hitler
you did not need to understand German
for his hate
his venom
and that of his followers
to echo through the ages
in what you hear today
from the dictator-in-waiting
and so many in his army
only a small number of souls in this city
share your religion
you tell me
and although the foundations of your faith
are the same
as those of the dominant religion
your fear becoming the Other
we discover
that although there are some who say
never again
you and i share a fear
that this is how it starts
we talk for quite awhile
then say our goodbyes
and as i walk down your street
i begin to cry
heartbroken
that you and your family
and so many like you
now must live in fear
in this beautiful and wounded land
i sit in my rented car
tempted to turn away
much like the moment years ago
on a bike ride not far from here
nearing the top of a mountain
dizzy from the thin air at 9000 feet
i began to coast downhill
toward safety
only to suddenly say yes to life
and turn again toward the summit
reaching it in awe and in wonder
as life began anew
so i dry my eyes
open the car door
put one foot in front of the other
and make my way to the next house
to knock on that door
for you
for all of us
and as i think of Hitler
and the dictator-in-waiting
i think
i pray
that this
is how it starts